Fate ReNight
by HopelessRomanticist
Summary: It turns out a single Excalibur is not enough to completely destroy the Grail, and Shirou's unwitting comment 'to go back' is interpreted by it as a wish to "go back" in time to the start of Fate. SwordxScabbard pairing.
1. Introduction: Are you my Master?

Introduction: Are you my Master?

By: HopelessRomanticist

Author Note: So, I play several hours, and watch 24 episodes of a slowly building relationship, and then... THAT happens. That…ending. Sure, I get far too emotionally attached to characters, and that I am a (as my name indicates) Hopeless Romanticist, but really? That gorram bittersweet ending where next to no-one ends up truly happy?

So I decided that I was going to pull a time travel fic on everyone. And not just any time travel fic. I've run into a few "Shirou to the past to help out in Camelot" (Read Arkueid's 'Turning Back the Pendulum'), several "Saber goes back to the future to live with Shirou" but actually no "Shirou goes back to the start of the story". Two 'Rin goes back to the past as Sakura's Magus Servant' though, which surprised me.

And yes, this does mean Shirou will be rather more powerful and *snicker* more intelligent than he was at the start. The problem is that at the end of the anime show, his power level at the end isn't really defined. (He stabs a priest with someone else's dagger, and activates the magic built into the blade. Not all that much there...) So unless I get objections, I'm going to say that he is going to start significantly less powerful than he was in the UBW movie. He's not going to use Conjuration/Projection off the bat, either, as that would lead to...uncomfortable questions.

Not everything will be 100% canonical (I'm not all that big a researcher, and FSN verse is pretty complex), and I'm trying a new method for this fic (Don't plan every little detail out. Allow myself room to change my plot as it goes).

Oh, and I don't own FSN or any characters. You've read my views on the ending. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? (This disclaimer applies to this, and all subsequent chapters. Just in case I forget to write it out every chapter.)

This WILL be the shortest chapter (I hope), and longest AN in the story. Sorry for this...

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

* * *

><p>STORY START<p>

* * *

><p>"As your sword, I have slain your enemies and protected you at every turn, I am glad I was able to carry out that oath."<p>

"And as my sword, you were amazing." '_Please, don't leave yet.'_

Master and Servant fell silent. Shirou could hardly breathe. Why did it have to be this way? He had protected everyone, except the one he cared about the most. Just how cruel was this world? The one time he wished to be selfish…He shook himself out of his reflections as Saber, no, Arturia, began to speak. At the very least, he could remember her.

"There's something I must tell you before I go…"

Saber turned to Shirou while her eyes were still closed. The wind was blowing her hair which made her even more beautiful; truly the image of a goddess.

"Shirou...I love you"

Before Saber was able to finish what she was saying, she opened her eyes and looked at the person who had once been her Master, her student, her lover. She smiled at him for the last time, trying to covey through her eyes what she did not -could not- say.

'_Goodbye, my love. Forever.'_

The sunrise brightly behind Saber, and Shirou cursed the halo of light as it forced him to close his eyes. When he opened them, Arturia was gone. The grass that she had been standing on slowly unbent, and so the last of Saber's presence in the world vanished. He looked at the sunset with a somewhat bitter smile on his lips as he softly said, "Of course, that's just like you."

He stared at the sunset for a time. It was both the most beautiful and most hated sight he had ever beheld. Seconds of silence turned to minutes, and finally the boy shook his head once more and turned towards home. A sigh escaped his lips.

"I need to go back."

The words were completely unintentional. Looking back on them, he wasn't even sure what he had meant: did he mean to say that he wished he could go back with her to Camelot? Did he mean to say that he wished he was home? Either way, the single statement had immense, unintended consequences.

A single drop of black ooze levitated itself up behind Shirou and a sickly sweet voice, a voice that carried a promise of corruption and desolation and assistance at a price; a price far too high for any sane being, floated through the air.

"As you wish, Champion"

For despite the best efforts of Arturia, the King of Knights, not even Excalibur's powers were enough to completely destroy the cruel, ancient artefact known as the Grail. Her powers had burnt away much of the cursed cup, but even the drop that remained had enough powers to grant a wish, and enough of the Grail's cursed 'personality' to manipulate the wish to cause as much destruction as it could.

And what could cause more destruction than the death of time itself?

Shirou was turning when the black drop expanded, covering him like an oily shroud. His body collapsed as the Grail pushed him to the ground and screamed when it began to shrink, crushing his body into a speck.

With a pop, Shirou vanished from time, and the world where he had once lived was engulfed in a wave of darkness, disappearing from existence as time itself was rewritten.

* * *

><p>Shirou opened his eyes, finding himself on the floor. A very <em>familiar<em> floor. He knew where he was instantly: he had spent many hours here practicing his conjuration, and this was the place where he had first met Saber. The blue light in the building was the same as it had been that nig-

Hold on.

The light was exactly the same, and on the ground in front of him was a runic circle that was still glowing with the after-effects of the magic that had just been forced through it. And his eyes were drawn up to the figure in silver armour looking down on him with green eyes he had last seen bidding him goodbye. Shirou was stunned speechless, and as such gave the universe a little joke, as he was once again too shocked to respond to the question posed by the goddess before him.

"I am Saber, your Servant. I have come in response to your summons. I ask you...are you my Master?"

'_What the hell is going on here?'_

* * *

><p>AN: Just a short chapter to set the scene<p> 


	2. Chapter One: Lancer and Archer

Chapter One: Lancer and Archer

Disclaimer: As normal, I own exactly 0% of Fate Stay Night. I would be willing to buy it though. Contact me if you own FSN and are interested in selling it for a few hundred dollars. Provided you let me rewrite the ending of the Fate route so that there is both a True and Good ending. Every other route gets one, but for Fate's Good route you have to die in 40 different ways, and complete EVERY other ending (Fate's True, UBW's Good and True, and HF's Good and True). And then you have to replay Fate. And there is no hint of the alternate ending, so you normally have to do this by accident. DAMNIT, GAME!

"Speaking"

'_Thoughts'_

"*TECHNIQUES*"

* * *

><p>Previously: The end of a dream, a wish is made, "Are you my Master?"<p>

"I am Saber, your Servant. I have come in response to your summons. I ask you...are you my Master?"

'_What the hell is going on here?'_

* * *

><p>Shirou's thoughts flew at a million miles an hour.<p>

Somehow, he had gone back in time. Back to when he had first summoned Saber all those nights ago. How and why weren't important right now, what mattered was that he could change _everything!_ He could stop unnecessary deaths, he could end the Grail Tourney before it began, and he could try and _save_ Saber. Even if this was only a dream, a sleep-deprived fantasy caused by his mind collapsing he owed it to himself and Saber to try and change as much as he could. He almost collapsed as the full scope of what was possible revealed itself. But should he? Could he really abandon this portion of his morals to selfishness?

"I ask again. Are you my Master?"

Shirou clenched his hands at the cool, impersonal tone in Arturia's voice, but managed to keep his own steady as he raised his hand, showing the command spells to the beautiful knight before him. He looked up, and saw Saber's face, and for a half-second saw her lying on the ground after the first fight with Gilgamesh. Her struggling to support herself after the encounter with Berserker. That was when he decided that he would change what he could.

"Those command seals prove you are indeed my Master."

Saber's eyes flashed with fire and determination, and Shirou had to restrain himself from tearing up in front of her. _'That would NOT make a good first impression. Better to try and keep calm and see what I can remember of tonight...'_

"From here on, my blade rests in your hands, and your destiny rests in my hands. Our contract is now complete."

'_Tonight was the encounter with Lancer-'_

"It appears that our enemy is still on the premises."

'_Something happened. Something important. What WAS it?'_

"Master, you wait here."

'_Gáe Bolg! Saber's injury! It was only due to luck that she survived last time, and my change might have already...no. This is one of the things I can change. I can't leave this to chance!'_

Shirou grabbed the knight's gauntlet as she moved towards the exit of the warehouse. Surprised, Saber stopped long enough for Shirou to get to his feet and bring his mouth up to the level of her ear.

"He tried to stab with an attack called Gae Bolg."

Saber turned to look incredulously at her Master. He had survived Cú Chulainn's deadly spear? And had enough presence of mind to tell her afterwards?

"I thank you, my Master. Please, stay back. I will defeat our enemy, and we will triumph in the Grail War."

With that, Saber spun and left the building, and Shirou collapsed again.

'_This time, things will be different. I swear it!'_

With that thought, Shirou began to plan.

* * *

><p>The two blue clad warriors faced off in the yard. Lancer rested on his red spear, and raised his hand to his mouth, pretending to yawn. Of course, Servant's didn't really get sleepy, but Lancer was just attempting to annoy the Servant before him. His master had sent him on a recon mission, but really what were the chances of this whole scenario playing out as it had? A duel with an Archer who used swords, killing a human only for the human to come back and summon Saber just when he was about to be killed again.<p>

'_Life sure can be bizarre.'_

"It's getting pretty late. You sure you don't want to save this fight till next time? You've got a novice of a master in there, and you might want to be fully prepared before taking me on."

Saber's eyes checked the yard out, searching for any hidden foes. Finally her eyes settled on her opponent's weapon. Better that she keep track of the deadly lance than look at her opponent. She silently thanked her Master for giving her the ace she needed against this opponent.

"...I refuse. After two servants have crossed paths, it is necessary that only one remain standing."

White teeth seemed to shine as Lancer grinned in anticipation. _This _was why he loved combat, the intoxicating feeling of two people fighting desperately to the death, with the strongest surviving while the weak perishing. His feet shifted slightly, and under Saber's gaze the lance tip jumped slightly upwards. Not enough to be normally noticeable, but certainly enough to be threatening. Her hands seemed to clasp air, almost as if clutching a sword. Two identical thoughts from the warriors

'_I am ready. I will triumph.'_

Lancer spoke, seemingly bored, but under Saber's eye the spearpoint jumped ever so slightly towards her again. Each second the head was a fraction closer to its 'unsuspecting' target.

"Ah well, just wanted to give you a chance-"

Lancer charged, bringing his spear up the tiny distance to line up with the other Servant's heart.

"-After all, you haven't even got a weapon ready!"

Saber didn't seem to react as the Lancer charged, but as he drew close she blazed into motion. She struck downwards with her hands, and the air moved as if she were holding a longsword. Her parry deflected the spear into the ground, and her sword slid up the shaft of the spear in an attempt to cut off the fingers clasping the weapon. Unfortunately for her, Lancer seemed to get over the fact he had been parried invisibly rather fast, and twisted his spear so that the sword stroke slipped up into the air, missing his hand.

"Tcht! An invisible blade?"

He didn't get time to continue, as his opponent took advantage of her raised sword to bring a hammer-like blow down on his head. Lancer raised his weapon in a desperate attempt to parry, and was thrown backwards for his efforts, spear ringing with the just-warded blow. He landed with a back flip, but only in time to catch a stab heading at his heart. Thanks to her Master, Saber knew that if Cú Chulainn got enough distance, he would be able to end her in one attack. Better not to let him have the opportunity. Lancer again skidded backwards, and began to almost regret attacking someone who had seemed so helpless.

'_How did a scouting mission change to a fight for my life? Heh, at least it's more interesting.'_

The pair danced back and forth for several rounds. Chulainn tried to keep Saber at a distance, exploiting his spear's reach. However, a spear was probably the worst weapon against an invisible weapon. A spear was a precise tool. The head is the main danger, so if the enemy got past it... and with an invisible weapon on the opponent the spear-wielder would have no idea just how close he was to having his spear knocked away...

Saber, on the other hand, was intent as getting as close as possible to the Lancer. She ducked under a stab at her head and flicked her blade, making the spear jump skywards. She charged forwards as her opponent retreated rapidly, but not quite rapidly enough.

'_I have you now-'_

She rolled just in time. Her foe had brought down his spear in an attempt to bludgeon her with the shaft. She almost cursed. With a spear-wielder as experienced as her current foe ANY part of the spear could dangerous. While the head remained the most deadly, the shaft was a staff to parry and strike with and the reverse end could kill as easily as the head if it hit the neck or nose or eyes. How on earth could she have forgotten such a basic rule against spearmen?

Lancer finally had some of the distance he desperately needed, and took the opportunity to jump back onto the fence surrounding the property. He balanced there, and Saber stopped moving, keeping her eyes trained on the blood-red spear. Normally she would have given her opponent the respect of looking at their eyes, but with this weapon...

"Let me ask you one thing, Servant. What is your weapon? It's a sword, right?"

Saber kept her eyes from wavering as she spoke. She heard her Master pull himself up with the doorpost of the warehouse, and instinctively moved a half-step to the right, putting herself between her enemy and her Master. While surviving Gáe Bolg was no easy feat (she had to admit that chances were high that even she would have fallen before the spear without the warning) it was not a thing that should be repeated. Best not to let her Master have to repeat it by killing her foe now.

"It does not matter what weapon I have. I will defeat you myself, here and now, for daring to injure my master."

* * *

><p>Shirou watched as the two great warriors fought. Something was...different this time. Finally, he picked up on it. He was keeping up with their movements. No longer was everything a blur. He could see openings in attacks that were exploited, he saw how Saber held herself warily, far far more cautious this time thanks to his warning. He let out a sigh of relief at this. She might be able to avoid injury completely, but he did hope that Lancer didn't die, especially after the last time they had seen him...<p>

A cruel figure in gold armour surrounded by thousands of weapons, and a single man in blue with a red lance standing between him and the fleeing duo.

He snapped out of the past as he heard Saber shout her challenge.

"If you used your lance as you did your tongue, you might almost be a challenging opponent!"

Lancer burst out laughing, still on his position on the fence. He raised his red spear in a mock salute, and cried aloud:

"Very well, I'll show you this lance of mine. *GAE-"

And suddenly Saber was moving. She had worked out her opponent's plan, and her taunt had merely tricked him into where he was now.

"Like I'd let you, Cú Chulainn!"

Lancer stumbled at hearing his name, and his face showed a burst of absolute terror for a moment.

'_How on earth?'_

"*INVISIBLE AIR!*"

The windstorm swept from Saber's blade into Lancer's feet, sending him flying off his precarious perch. Saber flew forwards in an attempt to strike down her foe before he could land, and the battle was over in one strike. Her blade bit deeply into her enemy's chest. A deadly wound for a human, but merely dangerous for a Servant. Cú Chulainn was sent flying into the, bounced once on the ground, before leaping backwards into the air, fleeing back towards his master. No way on earth he could defeat such an opponent without a surprise attack, and even then not in his current condition.

Saber watched her opponent flee with disappointment.

'_Damn. He escaped. But at least I am uninjured and able to continue to protect my Master.'_

She turned towards her Master, only to see him already by her side, looking at where the fleeing Servant had vanished to. Noticing her glance, he quickly turned to her and gave a smile.

"You were brilliant..."

Shirou trailed off, giving the impression that he didn't know her name. _'Damnit, this facade is so hard to maintain. But if I said I was from the future things would get very, very complicated. And there would be no way of swaying Arturia away from her wish.'_ His ruse worked, and Saber began introducing herself, by her title instead of name, obviously.

Saber, though, felt something deeper was meant in his statement. It almost felt as if he was not only talking about her actions in the battle, but also talking about her whole life. It was the words she had longed to hear when King, but never came. Shirou's tone seemed to convey his admiration of every aspect of life she had led.

She gave herself a mental kick. This was no time to wishfully read emotions into simple statements of gratitude. _'You do not deserve gratitude, not yet. So stop searching for it in your imagination and earn it!'_ Still, she could not shake off the strange feeling that her Master knew her inner struggle...

"Servant Saber, my Master."

"You did brilliantly, Saber. Though I was worried when he began to shout;Gae Bolg, was it? Was he Irish? But who...I hope I don't offend you, but who was he, and who are you?"

"I am the Servant you summoned to participate in the most holy of Tourneys, the Grail War."

Shirou remembered to stutter "B-But what is the 'Grail War'. And what does it mean to be a 'Servant?' I... you just appeared after I was about to die from that man..."

Saber's eyes darkened for a moment. "You really don't know anything? Even though you gave me the warning?"

'_An inexperienced Master? This could be...harder than I had anticipated. At least he has not proven himself to be a burden.'_

"About Gae Bolg? He shouted that it meant the 'Heart Seeking Spear' or something, and-" Here Shirou scratched his head, trying to act nervously. And give his hands something to do other than embracing the woman before him. _'Hormones. Hate them or love them, they are part your biology.'_ "-I know some general mythology. Nothing special. Greek and English mostly. " _'Thank you, Rin'_

Saber felt that...something...was off even as her Master talked, but he had no reason to lie, and her feeling was only that. She decided to dismiss her worries for the moment, and answered as best she could.

"Very well. The Grail War is a duel to the death between seven Masters and seven summoned Servants. The prize of the tourney is the wish-giving Grail. Whoever obtains the Grail may have a single wish granted. We Servants serve our Masters as familiars and weapons. We exist for the purpose of fighting other Masters and their Servants. As you have no doubt worked out, you have been chosen to be a Master, and I am your Servant."

Shirou almost interrupted Saber as she talked about the Grail in such glowing terms. He held himself in check, trying to remember again what happened this night. After the fight with Lancer, something else had happened. Something very important. But his previous thought about the Grail kept intruding.

'_It's a weapon, an instrument of murder that draws on suffering to destroy. Hardly a holy artefact, unless you are a psychotic madman like Kirei...'_

Saber swivelled quickly, and even as she spoke Shirou remembered.

'_Rin and Archer! Shit!'_

"Master, I sense a new presence-"

"Saber, wai-!"

"We will talk later!"

And she vanished, speeding to where Shirou remembered Archer was just about to appear. He chased after her. It was probably too late to stop Archer being wounded, but he had to save Rin at least. Her fate had been uncertain enough last time, so she was his second priority after Saber. But if the uninjured Saber was too fast...

"DAMNIT! How did I forget!"

* * *

><p>Shirou rounded the corner at a dead run. As he turned the corner, he saw Saber bring her blade across Archer's left half of his body, almost separating his arm from his torso.<p>

'_Of course she's stronger. Saber wasn't wounded so she's still at basically full strength!'_

Archer vanished, and Saber turned towards the figure he knew was Rin, who raised her hand and cast a wind spell in an attempt to stave off the Servant. Saber ignored the spell and drew back her blade. _'The more things change...'_

"SABER, STOP! Stay your hand!"

Saber froze, mid-blow, and Rin turned incredulously towards Shirou, as did Saber.

"Master, what are you doing? She's our enem-"

"No. Stand down, Saber. I cannot allow you to kill her."

"What are you _SAYING_? She's a Master. An enemy that must be defeated at ANY cost!"

"Stay on guard if you must, but I would prefer to speak to other humans before you cut them down. I have no idea what's happening, and as far as I know, this is going to turn me into some kind of murderer!"

"Tch!"

"Besides, she's my classmate. Aren't you, _Rin_?"

Rin was surprised for a second, but quickly covered it, standing up and brushing herself down from where she had been knocked sprawling.

"Good evening, Emiya-kun. I wish we had met again in better circumstances, but for now I guess I'll thank you for sparing me."

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, this was pretty much the same as the original. The only changes made so far is that Saber escaped injury thanks to Shirou's warning and that Archer took a rather more severe blow than he did previously. Come on, it's one chapter in. I'm hardly likely to have Kirei or Gilgamesh killed off that fast.<p>

Edited AN: Thank you, Caellach Tiger Eye, for pointing out some of the punctuation, and the OOC line from Saber.


	3. Chapter Two: Fate Exposition Night

Chapter Two: Fate/Exposition Night

By: HopelessRomanticist

Disclaimer: As normal, I own exactly 0% of Fate Stay Night. I would be willing to buy it though. Contact me if you own FSN and are interested in selling it for a few hundred dollars.

I apologise for this chapter in advance. I'm really not all that happy with this one. My excuse is that nothing really happens of much importance here. In the game, it was Rin and Kirei explaining the Grail War to Shirou, and I didn't think people would appreciate me copying the speeches when Shirou is already supposed to know it. This chapter didn't...flow as easily as the last one (I'm guessing that the amount of talking was the problem. I don't really seem to get long conversations all that well, both in RL and writing), and I haven't really had a chance to edit it to the degree I would like. Please point out any mistakes or anything like that so I can change it. At least next chapter will probably be fun.

"Speaking"

'_Thoughts'_

* * *

><p>Previously: Awakening, Lancer defeated, First encounters with Rin.<p>

"Good evening, Emiya-kun. I wish we had met again in better circumstances, but for now I guess I'll thank you for sparing me."

* * *

><p>Rin quickly stood, and moved to shake Shirou's outstretched hand. She was interrupted by a strong breeze, and Saber's arm pointing directly at her neck. No doubt the Servant's invisible weapon was already between the two Masters. Rin stood very still as she realised just how dangerous a situation she was in. She was helpless before an opposing Master; to make matters worse her Servant had been defeated in one blow from the other Master's Servant.<p>

Shirou gave a sigh, looking at Saber in annoyance. While her protective instincts were welcome, Shirou felt he was almost as powerful as the lowest-level of Servant. He had could Create, Project and Reinforce and even had Avalon inside him. The idea of Rin besting him in straight out melee combat was rather amusing, at least to him.

"Perhaps we should discuss this in a more appropriate location."

Shirou gestured at the house behind them, and spoke again, almost as an afterthought.

"And Saber, please lower your weapon. Rin isn't going to cause any trouble. She certainly isn't that stupid."

Rin bristled, but calmed herself. If he was going to be like that, then she could play at that game.

"I was just going to thank you for almost using up one of your trump cards to save your enemy. You do realise you have a limited number though?"

Fake concern laced her voice, and Shirou almost laughed. _'There she is...I can't believe how good it is for her to tease me again.' _The laugh died in his throat as, involuntarily, he remembered a smear of blood on cream-colour walls. With a shake he returned to the present, and gave Rin a slightly forced smile.

"I trust my companion to do what is appropriate. Why, don't you trust yours?"

Saber started, and gave Shirou a strange glance. After just two conversations, in which he had shown how completely out of his depth he was, he already trusted her? _'He certainly is trusting, for someone who had no idea what was going on.'_ Shirou didn't see her expression, to busy grinning as he remembered just what Rin had used her command spell on, and Rin's face grew red. With a visible breath, she calmed herself and gave a polite smile. This made Shirou take a tiny step back: Rin smiling was far more dangerous than Rin frowning. Frowning just meant she was pensive, smiling meant she was plotting how best to hide a murder weapon.

"I must agree with your earlier statement, Emiya. We really should discuss this in a more appropriate location. There is so much to tell a novice such as you." 'At_ least we'll be discussing something where I've got the advantage, and you are off-balance. Though you are taking this amazingly well. Hope you aren't always this collected: it wouldn't be any fun...what am I thinking? He's. An. ENEMY!'_

* * *

><p>Shirou prepared drinks for the two women, unconsciously moving towards the kitchen to make tea for Rin and Saber. Both gave him looks that he completely missed, as he hummed a small tune while making the drinks:<p>

'_Tea (note to self; need to buy triangular tea-bags). One, two three seconds for Rin. English tea, of course, for Saber (I should try and pick up the tea from that restaurant we had lunch at). Four seconds, one sugar. Half a spoon of milk.'_

As he began to serve the drinks, he realised that he had just served each of them the other's drink, and switched them. THIS time he caught the strange looks from both women when he looked up.

"ahahah-"

He trailed off and sat down, resisting the urge to slam his head into the table until he overloaded Avalon. How the heck would he know Saber's favourite drink? Hell, how would he know Rin's?

'_Those are the mistakes that could catch you out. You have to STOP being so considerate for just one moment!'_

"So, your explanation?"

Rin's expression went from confused to 'lecture-mode' and Shirou leant back, letting the familiar speech flow over him. She was one of the official Masters in the Tourney. She was a Magus. She asked if Shirou was a Magus, to which he affirmed, but 'admitted' to only being able to use reinforcement. _'Considering how she acted last time, I probably shouldn't bring up my projection just yet.'_ He asked about how Rin maintained a double-life as a perfect student and a Master, and she mentioned how people hid their true colours. From there, the discussion moved to the main topic. The Grail War. The truth (according to Rin) about Servants. Shirou had heard all this, and took the opportunity to think about the future. He was wondering what he was going to do with Shinji _'contemptible little creep' _when, finally, Rin stated that she would take him 'somewhere important'. He noticed that this time she didn't tell him where or who they were going to see. _'Heh, guess I annoyed Rin enough to let her try and 'surprise' me with Kirei's...eccentricities. If that's the right word for an insane murdering psychopath.'_

THAT brought Shirou's thoughts crashing to a halt. The Church. The Basement. Kirei Kotomine.

* * *

><p>Rin walked at the front of the group, guiding them towards their 'secret' destination. Shirou walked behind a bit, talking with the raincoat-clad Saber. There was the slightest signs of rain (Shirou was unsure of why Saber being uninjured would affect the weather patterns of the city, but he wasn't about to argue over a point like that…) so the raincoat didn't look completely out of place this time, but Shirou still considered himself lucky that as they walked down the street they passed no-one. The yellow coat did stand out in the grey landscape. It didn't help that Shirou had to constantly fight the desire to remove the plastic covering Saber to make sure she hadn't vanished. Which, again, would make Rin and Saber ask several uncomfortable questions.<p>

'_Not the best ideas I've ever had... but at least it gives me thing to talk about.'_

"So Saber...is there a reason you can't turn incorporeal ? Rin mentioned that Servants can turn into 'spirit forms' and become intangible..."

"Master, I bel-"

"Saber. Please, just call me Shirou. 'Master' is so...formal. I'd prefer if we didn't have to be so stiff around each other."

Hidden by the coat, Saber's eyes lit up, and her face broke into a small smile. He certainly was different from her last master... her smile vanished.

"You are right. I much prefer that name. I will call you Shirou."

Shirou forced his eyes to look around the street instead of at his Servant. No-one else was out.

'_I guess that the murders and 'gas leaks' are keeping everyone in doors. At least that'll minimise the collateral damage from the next fight... but at the same time, I hate how the people in this city have to live in fear of things they don't even know about!' _Shirou gave himself another mental boot to the head, and pulled his attention back to Saber.

"So...about the intangibility?"

"Ah, my apologies. I, for some reason, am unable to transform into my 'spirit form'. I am not entirely sure as to why, but it was possibly due to a fault in the summoning ceremony."

Unknown to both of them, Rin had overheard, and had on a sneaky grin. Finally something to use against Shirou. _'Why do I care? I'm probably going to have to kill him soon anyway! I can't let him win just because I enjoy teasing him! But I guess just this once won't hurt...' _

"Poor thing, it must be hard to have made such a contract with such a...inexperience magus. Imagine your potential if you had only had a real magus as your Master."

"That certainly is a compliment to Saber, Rin. After all, didn't she defeat your Servant in a single blow, despite my inexperience?"

Rin bristled again, but some part of her smiled at the verbal jousting, and her face, normally impassive, once again broke out in a half-smile. Which again made Shirou step back and slightly to the left, into the 'cover' of Saber.

'_She hasn't moved in yet, so she can't kill me in my sleep...'_

Shirou felt it was time to move the topic onto something else before Rin continued this discussion. He fell back into step with Saber.

"You fight with a sword? I can't remember all that many legends about beautiful, sword-wielding female knights. I guess I'll just- Saber?"

Saber had stopped in the middle of the street, eyes wide. _'Had he just said what I think he said-?'_

Shirou's thoughts were quite similar; _'Oh, crap, did I just say what I think I said?'_

Saber sped up her pace, quickly catching up and overtaking her Master. As she passed, Shirou caught a glimpse of red on her cheeks and gave a small grin. It seemed Saber was letting down her inner walls far faster this 'life'.

'_I guess having a Master who actually helps and talks to you is an improvement over before, when I just wanted out of this War...'_

The trio kept walking, Rin providing titbits of information and occasional vocal jabs at Shirou, who jokingly returned them in kind. Saber spent most of the time silent, eyes on the lookout for any possible enemies. Mostly, though, she felt isolated in a forest of steel buildings. It felt like everyone else in the city had just vanished. And to make matters worse, something wasn't right in the air nearby... Saber turned the corner and almost gasped. The sheer presence of the church ahead of them was pushing down on her; representing the antithesis of everything she stood for. Saber decided then and there that she would not be going inside under any circumstance, unless her Master was in a life and death situation.

'_I believe that someone should stay outside to guard against attacks. THAT is why I am going to stay out of that church. I am not terrified of a building.' _Saber tried to convince herself of that fact, but with little success.

Shirou had noticed Saber get more and more tense as the party neared their destination, but when he rounded the bend he didn't notice her gasp as he was too busy struggling for air himself. He wondered how on earth he hadn't noticed the aura of the church the first time. It radiated a kind of brooding malevolence that almost made him choke. Maybe the knowledge of what lay under the church was increasing his sensitivity, but Shirou, at that moment, wanted nothing so much as to turn around and run back home. Strangely, Rin didn't seem to feel anything, but then again Shirou had always been more sensitive to this sort of vicious, draining magic. Saber was growing more and more twitchy with each step up the brightly lit lane, so Shirou fell back a bit to talk with her.

"Saber, you can feel it also, right? Just try and calm down a bit..."

Saber turned to look at her Ma-Shirou, her eyes full of questions, but as she was about to speak, Rin announced their arrival at the destination:

"This is it, the Kotomine Church!"

She swept her hands towards the church in a dramatic gesture. No response. She turned, and saw Shirou talking with his Servant several steps behind. Her eyebrow twitched, and eyes narrowed.

"Shirou, you go inside. I will remain here in order to defend against any surprise attacks." _'I am not afraid of entering the building I am not afraid of entering the building I am not-'_

Shirou looked at Saber concernedly, "You sure you'll be ok, Saber?"

"Quite sure. Master, you should hurry inside and finish up your business as soon as possible. There is something not quite right in the air tonight."

'_You don't know half of it, Saber. You don't know half of it.'_

He opened his mouth to reassure Saber, but suddenly was jerked away as Rin grabbed his arm and, patience exhausted, dragged the protesting Shirou into the church.

* * *

><p>When Kirei first stepped from the shadows in the church, Shirou's hands and mind were already snapping into his projection state. He was literally a second away from crafting Caliburn and slashing the madman in half before Rin, but before he could end the lunatic, Rin noticed him standing there, hands clenching, and grabbed his hand, dragging him forwards to introduce him. For Shirou, the moment of bloodlust was lost, and he mentally brought himself back under control. He couldn't do anything. Yet. But when the time came, Kirei would be THE one person who Shirou considered worthy of death. No attempts at redemption, no second chance, not even any last words. The twisted not-corpses and his father's death flashed into Shirou's memory, and he shuddered again.<p>

"Welcome boy. I am Kirei Kotomine. Welcome to my church. But I take it you did not come here for confession... Rin, is this the one?"

"If by 'the one' you mean the last Master, then yes I am. I take it you are the supervisor of this...Grail War, then."

"That I am, Mr...?" Kirei waited, asking Shirou his name without speaking.

"Emiya. Shirou Emiya." The words were short and sharp. Rin raised her eyebrow at this. She knew Kirei didn't exactly make people comfortable, but Shirou's tone reminded her of a cornered animal choosing between fight and flight. That, and Kirei had said nothing particularly insensitive. Yet.

"So, Shirou Emiya, you are saying you are the last Master?"

"First, I would like to know what's going on!"

"Oh. Rin?" The priest turned to Rin, obviously asking for an explanation.

"Yeah, he's completely out of his depth. I figured it would be best to get him to you before he killed himself."

'_He sure isn't acting out of his depth. Until now he seemed to have accepted everything I said. I guess Kirei just rubs him wrong. Very wrong, by the looks of things...'_

"Very well, Shirou Emiya. As this is the first time my student has ever asked me for help, I will endevour to explain. You have been chosen to be a Master by the Holy Grail, and to participate in the Holy Grail War. If you are victorious, your dearest wish will be granted through the hallowed Grail."

Shirou decided to play the 'innocent naive out-of-his-depth boy' he had been. Best to let Kirei keep underestimating him up to his death. "But...that's absurd! To kill to have our desires granted. And I have no DESIRE to obtain the Grail. There's no reason for me to fight."

"Really now? Let me tell you a story. Ten years ago the Grail War happened, and as a result of the Grail manifesting, a massive fire devastated this town. Even now, the Grail War brings about suffering as Masters command their Servants to steal souls from civilians to increase their own power. Shirou Emiya, do you not want to put a stop to this?"

"Of course! But killing can't really necessary. Is there a way to remove the powers of a Master?"

"You may take the Command Spells of a defeated Master. They then must seek sanctuary in the church. Here, they will be safe. Of course, defeating a Master means defeating and killing their Servant, which is hardly an easy task, even for other Servants."

"And if a Master and Servant were to attack the church and kill you while attacking the Masters in sanctuary?"

Kirei stopped his pacing for a second, and Shirou hoped that he hadn't given too much away with his questions. If Kirei answered, it would give Shirou an answer as to whether he could kill the Observer now. But that hope was rather dramatically dashed, as Kirei answered.

"The Mages' Association takes an interest in the Grail Wars, and are responsible for the Observer each war. If I am slain by a Master or Servant without provocation, the murders become targets for the entire Association, for the duration of their lives."

'_Goddamnit! I'll just have to play his crazy game till the end, then.'_

"Very well, I will be the last Master in this War, and stop another such disaster occurring again!"

"I hereby acknowledge of Shirou Emiya being the last Master. I declare the curtains raised, and for this Grail War to begin."

Rin gave both of them strange looks. It seemed that she had expected Shirou to take far more convincing. She started to feel uncomfortable, as she always did whenever she spent too long in the Church, or Kirei's presence.

"Great. Glad we're done here. Let's go, Shirou!"

And she spun, black hair whipping out behind her. Shirou turned to follow but, as he had expected, Kirei's heavy hand fell on his shoulder. Shirou turned slowly, fighting the urge to Caliburn this monster. Kirei leaned close, and looked deep into Shirou's eyes. With a maniacal-_'how on earth did I miss that indication of his sanity level'- _grin, Kirei spoke to Shirou.

"Rejoice, _boy_, for at last, your wish will be GRANTED!"

Shirou gave Kirei a cool look, before storming out of the building. Kirei smiled after him. This promised to be an interesting War.

* * *

><p>Shirou almost collapsed as he left the church. The confrontation in such an obviously hostile environment had burnt out whatever courage he had left, especially with the mask he had been projecting the whole time, and his knees were shaking. <em>'I'm going against time itself! How can I hope to-'<em>

"Master!"

Saber had heard the doors close, and when she turned towards the pair, she noticed her master on the verge of fainting. She rushed over, disolving one of her gauntlets to grab Shirou's hand

"Master, what's wrong? You're so pale, and incredibly cold!"

Shirou looked back at the scene that had just passed and shivered. This action worried Saber even more, who took off her coat in a single movement and draped it over Shirou's shoulders. This at last brought him out of his stupor.

"I'll be fine, Saber. That...just took a lot out of me. The atmosphere is really oppressive in there. You should take back the coat. I'll be alright in a moment..."

"Are you sure, Master? You look ill."

"I...just made a rather life-changing decision. Saber, I cannot, will not, turn a blind eye to this battle. I've decided to become a Master to protect the people of this city _'as you became King to protect the people of your county'_. I might not be the best Master, but please put up with me."

Shirou held out his hand, hoping that he had not changed so much as to-

and he felt a warm hand meet it. He looked up into Saber's beautiful eyes, and once again restrained himself from hugging her. Instead, he shook her hand, locking their fates together.

Rin looked between the two and gave a sigh. _'Looks like they will end up being my enemies after all...'_ "Well, then, let's get home before the sun gets up."

The trio turned and began to walk down the road towards home. Once again, the streets were completely empty. They passed through the steel buildings, and began walking down the old cobbled road leading to Rin's and Shirou's houses. Rin seemed tired, Saber was anxious, but Shirou... Shirou's eyes were darting about everywhere, trying to find just where Ilya would-

"Oh, so you've finally come out, Onii-chan! I'm so glad you decided to fight! I was tired of waiting."

Ah, _there_ she was.

* * *

><p>AN: Reviews? And yes, dialogue heavy chapter, as I warned about at the start. Only real new thing was my explanation as to why Shirou can't just put several sharp pieces of metal through Kirei. Bastardsonofa- don't mind me. I'm just replaying the game and am up to the fcking church basement.<p>

And yes, I realise that even with his 'skills' and future knowledge, Shirou would never be up to the standards of a Servant. However, I would like to point out that this is all Shirou's thoughts. He feels he is. Overconfidence which will have to be beaten out of him at the earliest oppor- oh, _hello _there Berserker. I wonder if you're going to have anything to do with that?

Again, really really not happy with this chapter. OTOH, Berserker is up next, which at least will be fun to write.

Next up: Ilya and Berserker!

HR


	4. Chapter Three: A Sister and a Monster

Chapter Three: A Sister and a Monster

Disclaimer: As normal, I own exactly 0% of Fate Stay Night. I would be willing to buy it though. Contact me if you own FSN and are interested in selling it for a few hundred dollars.

"Speaking"

'_Thoughts'_

AN: To clarify, Shirou came from the GAME (Fate route. Obviously). Not the anime. So unless you've played the game then some of his 'memories' might seem unfamiliar, or he might seem to have lost some memories (Most of the details on Caster, for example). The stories run parallel though. Also, some scenes might be based on the anime counterpart. Mostly cause it's a lot easier to watch a 20something minute episode that I have on my ipod then to play through several hours of game to find the associated section. Yes, I am lazy. Oh well.

Final AN: I am currently in the grips of a rather painful migraine. As such, expect my already slow writing speed to be snail-paced, if even existent, for the next week or so.

* * *

><p>Previously: Explanations, Flirting, Decisions and Confrontations.<p>

"Oh, so you've finally come out, Onii-chan! I'm so glad you decided to fight! I was tired of waiting."

* * *

><p>Looking up at the massive figure behind his 'little' sister, Shirou's confidence and planning left him. <em>'How are we supposed to kill this thing TWELVE times?'<em>

"It's nice to see you again, Shirou. My name is Ilyasviel Von Einzbern, but you can just call me Ilya. Let's go Berserker. Crush these fools!"

Behind him, he vaguely heard Rin gasp and Saber shout out to him to retreat. Shirou's feet took a few steps back, though whether this was due to Saber or the sheer aura of intimidation surrounding Hercules was unknown. Inside Shirou's head, connections flashed as he began to pour magic through them. He heard Hercules begin to roar, and Saber meet his charge.

Rin shouted, and tried to pull Shirou away, but he shook her off. He _needed _to be here. Even uninjured, Saber couldn't possibly win twelve times against her opponent. No, less of a foe and more of a force of nature.

Saber took in the situation instantly. A second later, she slid under the massive stone axe-sword that passed through the air and smashed through the handrail in front of which she had been standing a second before. Following the movement through, she span and cut her weapon into the hamstrings of the giant. Once her opponent was immobilised, victory would prove easy. _'The battle is mine!' _

Only for her wind blade to impact uselessly against the iron skin of the Berserker. The world seemed to slow, Saber looked at the intact limb hopelessly, Rin's face fell and Shirou... Shirou was shouting out something.

"SABER! GET OUT OF THE-"

And then Berserker's backswing caught her in the waist, and she went flying.

'_Of course, I should have remembered. After all, I did the same thing to Lancer...'_

Saber flipped in mid-air, landing feet first. She raised her blade and charged the crazed warrior before her.

* * *

><p>Fighting styles are never identical. Every warrior has their own way of fighting, their own nuances, which would adapt as they were practiced. Due to their individuality, watching one unfamiliar style makes for interesting viewing, while watching two, even if they are similar, normally is confusing. The duel before Shirou and Rin displayed two completely different styles, and as such was a dizzying sight to behold.<p>

Both fighters were masters of their respective disciplines, the very pinnacle of martial prowess. Their technique was flawless. Saber, sleek and graceful, moved like a quicksilver hurricane; striking in darting, daring slashes that managed to slip around her foe's guard again and again. She never uttered a sound as she attacked, completely focused, utterly disciplined. Her emotions were suppressed, and she fought with precision that seemed inhuman.

Berserker was the opposite; while Saber's blows were precise, his were indiscriminate. He was rage and thunder, and his weapon shook the very air as he swung it toward his opponent. He fought with all the fury of a Berserker, and reinforced it with the weight of his fame and myth. He swung his weapon like a mad beast, before striking the ground with a jarring thump. It left craters wherever it struck, tearing up fissures in the earth that exploded out at his opponent, and soon the already-trampled street was pitted with a half-dozen craters and lines of torn earth. His hair stood on end, lending a further manic element to his already crazed appearance.

Adding to his already immeasurable rage was the fact that the Servant before him was never standing still. He knew, somewhere in his twisted mind, that it would only take one decisive blow to finish this fight, and yet that blow failed to land. Saber relied wholly on her speed to stay alive, leaping forward with gravity-defying slashes before tumbling low into evasive rolls which carried her to safety, out of the path of the oncoming axe.

The female Servant would wait for her opponent to commit to a strike, choosing her moments carefully. Already, her restraint had paid off a half-douzen times, her wind-blade's tip striking against Berserker's exposed shoulder or arms, but cascades of sparks were all that marked the areas where Saber's attacks had penetrated Berserker's defences. His body was simply too tough for her wind-blade, but she fought on regardless. A blow to the eyes would surely bypass her foe's insane defences, and as long as there was the slightest chance of victory, Saber would fight.

And yet, despite her tenacity, the odds were entirely in Berserker's favour, and becoming more so as the fight dragged on. Ilya's Servant was fresh to the fight, and bore all the vitality of a newly-unleashed warrior. Saber was not, having fought off Lancer and Archer just hours ago. The speed and stamina her fighting style demanded was pushing Saber past breaking point, a point which was becoming all too evident. Her muscles began to tire and movements began to slow. Without a constant supply of mana, Saber was tiring.

With a bellow of fury, Berserker struck.

The blade clove the air, leaving a shimmer in its wake. Saber leapt clear as it struck the ground, but the air behind the blow threw her back. She landed in a smooth crouch, but her armour was cracked and her chest heaved from the exertion. Sweat glistened across her brow.

Nostrils pumping, the giant rushed again. Saber met him midway; sword flashing as it slid around the stone blade's handle. Snapping her wrist to one side, Saber diverted the attack into a dead-lock grapple. The stone and wind met with a flash, and spat sparks into eyes as the weapons shrieked against each other. The two combatants stood pressing against one another in a battle of sheer force.

The massive Servant's physical power far exceeded her own. Saber's arm shook with the strain of diverting the Hercules' strength. Arturia gripped the flat of her blade with her other hand, attempting to reinforce her hold. It was no use. Inexorably, her knees began to bend from the relentless pressure.

Slowly but surely, she was being overpowered.

"What a pathetic Servant," gloated Ilya, looking at the spectacle. With Saber pressed into the ground Ilya matched her height. "Why not just give in already?"

With a defiant snarl, Saber twisted her arm, smashing her blade's invisble pommel into Berserker's nose, following up with a sweeping elbow in his red eye that spun the creature away from her, breaking the dead-lock.

Saber tottered backward, regaining her balance just in time to see Berserker complete the spin and turn back towards her.

"You shall find I still have some fight left in me." Saber panted, resuming her stance.

Nevertheless, Saber was forced to give ground once more, back-pedalling as she evaded two lateral swipes of the monstrous stone weapon.

Step by step, inch by inch, she was being driven back toward her Master. Behind her, Rin was throwing all the magic she could muster at Saber's ferocious opponent, and her Master had grasped a piece of wood from the ground, seeming to focus on it. Saber wondered briefly what he thought he was doing, but the yell of Berserker brought her back to the present. But this presented a problem.

Soon there would be nowhere left to run.

* * *

><p>Rin had realised long ago that this battle was impossible to win and that the best they could do would be to drive off their attacker. With this in mind, she raised her hand, revealing five red gems. While not at the level of the one she had wasted against Saber, these should at least be sufficient for what she had in mind. Human flesh was far weaker than that of a Servant, after all. Saber ducked under one of Berserker's blows, but its elbow slammed into her sending her flying into a telephone pole. Berserker charged the stunned warrior, leaving Rin the opening she so desperately needed. With a Germanic phrase, Rin sent a stream of silver fireballs streaking towards Ilya, who had been standing behind Berserker until he had inadvertently left her exposed. Ilya's red eyes widened in realisation and she screamed, a command seal flashing.<p>

"BERSERKER!"

The monstrous creature vanished mid-blow and appeared directly before Ilya, catching Rin's fireballs on its chest. Rin looked on in disbelief as the blast dissipated and Berserker stood there, completely unharmed. Ilya regained her composure, and glared at Rin with incredible hostility.

"That's not good manners. Trying to kill me when my Servant was distracted. Hercules, kill her."

Berserker raised his arm, and Rin began to back away, an expression of pure terror on her face. _'__Mein gott in Himmel__. Hercules. She summoned Hercules as a Berserker!' _She knew she was going to die. Against a Servant of his calibre, she might as well have been throwing stones at a mountain. She desperately tried to cast something from her personal magic reserves, but when she tried to reach for her magic all she could concentrate was on a single fact.

'_I'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodieI'mgoingtodie-'_

Nothing she could do would work. Berserker had simply ignored the strongest magic she had left. And now she was going to die. A form stepped in front of her, club raised.

'_ThisisitohgodIdon'twantto- wait. Club? _

_No. He wouldn't. He couldn't. He couldn't be that insane as to...'_

* * *

><p>While Rin had been casting, Shirou had taken a breath, and the outside world slowed as thought the air had turned to world slowed to a standstill, before melting away. First the surroundings, then the people. For the moment, Shirou was the only person and thing in a dark world.<p>

"Trace, on."

His mind focused suddenly on the many circuits running through his body. Each one signified a route through which to channel his power. To his surprise, he discovered he had around fifteen more circuits than he had had before. He must have somehow brought the majority his past self's circuits back with him, increasing his available his circuits to forty two.

He had, at the start of the battle, tried to conjure a weapon to support Saber, but for some reason his projection failed. _'Probably because this body's circuits haven't been used properly unlocked yet, and over half these circuits shouldn't even exist...'_ so he had grabbed part of the remains of the handrail and put as much reinforcement magic as he dared. At the very least it should withstand one blow, giving Rin time to retreat.

That was the theory at least.

Berserker's blade cut through the air, but Shirou's club intercepted the blow before Berserker could put his full strength behind it and the massively reinforced handrail bent but held. Rin and Ilya gasped in shock as the human blocked a blow from the strongest servant. Unfortunately for Shirou, this was where his luck ran out. Berserker brought his blade back, and swept it forwards again. The ground below the strike shattered as the strength and speed of the attack moved the air with enough force to tear up the earth. This time, the club gave barely a millisecond's resistance before disintegrating under the force of the blow. The blow, which should have taken Shirou's head off, was knocked the tiniest bit lower by the slight resistance, and only gave Shirou a blow to his side. A glancing blow that collapsed one of his lungs, and sent him flying backwards.

'_That' _Shirou coughed weakly _'wasn't part of the plan._

Red filled his vision.

'_I should...get some...rest...' _and Shirou's consciousness left him.

* * *

><p>Saber saw her master thrown through the air and for a single moment her vision became red. All traces of the emotionless swordswoman vanished. She yelled and charged, ducking under the axe-blade, then side-stepped as Berserker's fist came around, aimed to catch her off-balance. It was his surging elbow that she failed to dodge, the blow smashing into her arm, bending it unnaturally and sending her face-first to the ground.<p>

Saber rolled instinctively, and the blow that would have killed her just sent her flying again. She staggered to her feet, but Berserker stood over her and lashed out a foot. Saber's ribcage shattered, breastbone split, and once again she sailed through the air. By chance, she came to rest between her stunned Master and the abomination. Berserker raised his arm and Ilya giggled. The blow began to descend.

'_I am sorry, my Master.'_

* * *

><p>'<em>Wake UP!'<em>

Shirou snapped out of unconsciousness to see Saber smash into the ground a few meters away from him. She desperately tried to get up, but couldn't even manage to stand before Berserker stood over her and raised his arm back for the final blow.

'_Fuck. That!'_

Shirou realised that his magic circuits were out of practice and useless in situations like this. So, he reasoned, he just had to use something else to conduct the flow of the energy his muscles needed. Shirou's veins and nervous system were unnecessary in this situation and he lit up like an electrical wire as he forced magical energy through them, giving him enough strength to leap up, and forwards. His nerves and veins were burnt out by the immense power he was channelling, but Shirou couldn't have cared less. Saber was about to die.

* * *

><p>Shirou leapt into Berserker's killing blow.<p>

* * *

><p>The two girls standing both gaped together as Shirou intervened and placed himself before Berserker's killing blow.<p>

"O-on-onii-chan?" Ilya's voice wavered. This wasn't supposed to have happened! Onii-chan was hers. She had wanted to...

Ilya had the urge check where he was lying, but restrained herself. She was about to tell Berserker to finish the surviving pair off when a cracking sound drew her attention.

Berserker's stone blade was covered in hairline fractures where it had met Shirou. As Berserker raised it again to complete his Master's orders and finish off the wounded Servant, the tip of the blade fell apart in mid-air. Its pieces bounced along the ground, one rolling to Ilya and bumping into her shoe. This development gave Ilya the excuse she needed to flee from the scene.

"Berserker, we are leaving."

And without another word, she spun on her heel and fled from where she had just killed her brother.

* * *

><p>AN: Heh. I think I'll leave it there.<p>

And yes, in this timeline Saber is more injured, Shirou is so much worse off it isn't remotely amusing. Previously he 'just' lost half is chest. Here...well, he suffered the following: a collapsed lung, broken ribs, nervous system and blood veins burst from magic power, and this isn't even speaking of Berserker's final blow.

Guess changing the past isn't always good. Oh, and this should go some way to showing Shirou how much of a gap there remains between himself and Servants. Saber dodged and parried multiple blows, got in a weapon lock and survived, and landed multiple (ineffective) hits. Shirou blocked one weak attack, and then was batted away like a bug.

Poor Shirou (this is going to be a common phrase for me throughout this fic)

* * *

><p>Speaking of Shirou's magic, I'm in agreement that he's weak, but I'm letting his future self bring back some of his old magic circuits. I have reasons. Mostly unimportant personal reasons of not wanting to write a repeat of Rin's basic magic training. If he's got more magic, the training will hopefully be more interesting than reinforcing lamps. THAT scene would really be interesting to write *eyeroll*.<p>

However, I'm not saying that he could ever beat Rin magic v magic. While Shirou is, IMO, strong at what he can do, he is and always will be limited to projection and reinforcement. Rin can do almost anything with prep time.

In D&D terms, I think of Shirou is a Sorcerer specialising in two schools at the exclusion of all others and Rin is a Wizard. Shirou might be better at his specialised 'school' (projection) than a normal Magus, but simply lacks variety to compete with a prepared mage.

Oh, and I realise I may have taken liberties in the FSNverse by manipulating magic and circuits like I did this chapter. To this I shrug and say "Oh well". I warned people at the start of this fic that while I would try and be canon-compliant, I simply don't understand everything from FSNverse. Specifics of magic, esp circuits [for example, if they are found in the Soul (what Shirou sent back) or the Body (what Shirou did NOT send back)] are among the things I don't 100% understand.

Still, this was a fun chapter to write. Took some inspiration from other fics I have read, but after a while reading fanfics I think that that is unavoidable.

Hopefully, my headache will leave before the end of the weak, but no promises I'll start writing as soon as I'm better. As I have already told several of my reviewers, I'm in my last year of high school, and as such have many, many exams on the horizon.

HR


	5. Chapter Four: Not as planned

Chapter Four: Not as planned

Disclaimer: As normal, I own exactly 0% of Fate Stay Night. I would be willing to buy it though. Contact me if you own FSN and are interested in selling it for a few hundred dollars.

AN: I didn't particularly want to upload this chapter, but then I realised that I was just procrastinating and not actually DOING any editing after my 2nd draft of it. I was just unhappy with the chapter (esp Rin's rant in the middle), so I kept putting off uploading it, despite having changed little since my last revision session three days ago. So I decided that I had better just put it up, instead of just leaving it to gather virtual dust. I really need a Beta.

On a random topic, anyone else think Kirei would make an…interesting Counter-Guardian? He'd get to witness an eternity of suffering and betrayal. Might not be so happy with the 'saving people' thing, but he'd get to experience suffering, and he probably would be willing to save people as long as he got his 'fix' of unhappiness.

And on my final unrelated topic, anyone know anything about Plutarch's writings on Cleopatra VII? I have an essay due for Ancient History on how Roman historians viewed Cleopatra, and really would prefer not to have to try to read eight (long) books by next week (missed their original hand-out due to my migraine), and write an essay the week after that.

"Speaking"

'_Thoughts'_

* * *

><p>Previously: A Sister and a Monster<p>

"Berserker, we are going."

And without another word, Ilya spun on her heel and fled from where she had just killed her brother.

* * *

><p>In a brightly-lit room, a petite blond girl held vigil over her injured Master. She had entered this room the moment she was well enough to rise, and had not moved in over two hours. Behind her, the door opened with a soft hiss and Rinlooked in, checking to see if there had been any change in Shirou's condition. Saber's unmoving form and the unmoving boy were answers enough, and with a sigh Rin closed the door and headed towards the kitchen. Both had a question on their mind that they were unwilling to share with potential enemies. Ironic that the question was the same:<p>

"How had he survived?"

Saber sensed a faint pulse of magic from her sleeping Master and, with the last point of danger past, began to relax and think more deeply. She knew she should try and rest, but for the first time in an age found herself unable to sleep. She knew her Master to be a complete amateur magus, as far out of his depth as should be possible and yet…

'_He survived Berserker. He took two blows from Berserker and has gotten better overnight. Even I would be incapacitated from such damage. He took two blows from Berserker, has gotten mostly better overnight and DAMAGED his weapon with his body!'_

In the quiet room, her mind returned to last night, remembering and trying to find how her Master had survived. Nothing. There were no tricks, no last-minute shields, no _anything_ that would allow his survival. Every fact, every detail that she knew said that the kind boy before her should be just one more corpse claimed in the Grail War. In her frustration the images of last night vanished. Calming herself, she temporarily abandoned the question and focused instead on another she had:

'_Why did he intervene? HOW did he intervene? Why would he protect me?'_

Brow wrinkling in annoyance, Saber turned her gaze towards the mattress and took the opportunity of a ray of light that illuminated her Master's face to examine him, trying to determine his mentality through his appearance. His actions were so unlike the man who also bore his name that for a second she had been sure it was a coincidence. He had committed the single most reckless, most pointless, most blatantly suicidal action in the history of the Grail Wars, and HE LIVED. And he had done it to protec- Ah…

Saber suddenly had a flash of realisation and she sighed in aggravation. He was just like her past self, if more subtly. Both fought to protect others, and had been willing to give up their lives, even their humanity to achieve this. Saber clenched her fist. Her one purpose in entering the pact she had was to win the Grail, and her new Master's personality was going to make this a challenge. She would need to break him of his habit before he jeopardised her chances of victory. The next time he got in such a situation he would die, it was certain.

As certain as his death last night had been. Should have been.

But he hadn't died. For a moment, Saber wondered if her Master was truly human, and not some kind of magical construct. He should have been a smear on the road, by all rights, but-

"M-morning, Saber"

Saber's eyes flashed down to her Master, berating herself for being so distracted. Her Ma- Shirou was looking up at her with slightly fuzzy eyes. It seemed he wasn't fully conscious, but still had recognised her. That was rather unusual, but Shirou seemed to take 'unusual' and make it standard behaviour around him.

Saber opened her mouth, preparing to unleash her admonition. Best to break his belief, both for herself and and for him. However, as she looked at the semi-conscious boy, she decided that she should hold off her lecture for when he was fully awake. She rose to get Rin. Having proven herself to be an honest Master, Saber felt that the least she could do was inform her of the developments of her saviour. Saber doubted Rin would try to assassinate someone who had, just last night, placed himself between her and certain death. _'Certain death for everyone except my Master, it seems.' _

* * *

><p>An hour later, Shirou was still sitting where he had sat down before talking to Rin, an aura of gloom smothering the dining room. Upon reflection, he should have seen this as a possibility. Not acting overwhelmed, teasing Rin, obviously getting along with his Servant and finally <em>surviving<em> two blows that by all rights should have torn him in two. Shirou's last fragments of resolve crumbled, and he sank his head into his hands.

'_There goes my planning. All because I couldn't see that I was trying to set myself up as some kind of equal to Rin. I still can't believe I didn't see this …'_

An hour ago, Shirou had entered dining room and had found Rin waiting. Silently, she motioned to the seat across from her, and he sat down hesitantly. He remembered his manners and looked towards Rin, catching her gaze.

"Thank you, Rin. I'm sure I would have died without your help."

Rin's tone rocked him; the simple cold way she spoke was so unlike her that for a moment he was afraid that he had somehow insulted her.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that, Shirou Emiya."

Shirou's mind locked down in confusion. _'This wasn't what happened last time! What have I done wrong?' _He decided to voice his thoughts:

"What do you mean?"

This time, Rin gave him a cold glare, tossing back her hair with a free hand.

"Oh, I think you know _perfectly _well what I mean. You're going to explain yourself. Now."

For a moment, Shirou was afraid that she had somehow discovered his time travel episode, but realised that she was probably only talking about his survival.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I really don't know how I survived that. I thought you, or maybe Saber had something to do with that..."

Rin gave him a level gaze, and gave a cough of disbelief.

'"_Oh, I don't know anything about the Grail War." "What are Servants?" "I'm a complete failure as a Magus."And now "I don't know how I survived." He's sneakier than I thought, but I suppose I really should have seen that.'_

"Bullshit."

Shirou's head snapped back. He could have counted the number of times Rin had sworn on one hand. Rin carried on, ignoring Shirou's expression of shock, which gradually morphed into comprehension and horror.

"You've been far, far too calm for someone as out of your depth as you are supposed to be. I supposed at first that you could just be naturally calm, or apathetic or something, but then you maintain enough of your wits to joke around with me while heading off to a supposedly unknown destination to decide your future. You pretend to be reluctant, but really you jump at the chance to participate in what amounts to a war, and seem to know of Kirei. Then, you don't flee from Berserker, which should have been the most frightening thing you'd ever have seen. Ilyasviel seemed to know you, and greeted you with "again". SOMEHOW a beginner Magus is calm enough to perform heavy duty reinforcement in the middle of battle and block a Servant with a piece of wood. And then you manage not only to survive a blow from him, but to recover enough to shield your Servant from another blow, and survive the second while damaging Hercules' weapon with your body!"

Rin was standing by now and, for the first time Shirou could remember, was glaring at him in hatred. She visibly calmed herself, and lowered her voice.

"I don't know who you are, and I don't know how much of what you've been saying is false, but the one thing I can't stand is when people make fools of me. You've been playing me like an instrument from the moment you 'saved' me and that ends here. It's plainly obvious you're experienced at this, so I'm going to give you this last chance. Explain yourself, and maybe, _maybe_ I will listen to you. But if you lie to me again then I am afraid I will have to see you as an enemy."

Shirou sat stunned at the ultimatum. _'No way… what on Earth was I doing? How could I be so stupid as to act like an experienced Magus. I should have remembered Rin is a genius. Now she doesn't see me as a possible ally, but as a definite threat. And…I can't explain. She won't believe my only explanation, and even then I can't. This Rin isn't the one I know, not yet, and now I…might have ruined any chance of an alliance.'_

Rin watched as Shirou's face twisted through a variety of emotions, from shock to despair. However, she remembered the single throw-away sentence she had said at the start of her lecture last night, about how people could conceal their true colours. She managed to trick the entire school, and here was someone who had been tricking her. She couldn't even trust her emotions, or the emotions he 'displayed'. Her brain said he was dangerous, and that was the only thing she could trust in this scenario. For the first time, she wished she had listened to Kirei, who had once offered her some advice on the Grail War:

"The War is fought with lies, secrecy, and every underhanded trick known to mankind. Treachery and betrayal are commonplace, and second nature to all those who aim to participate. A piece of advice, from an errant teacher to an uncaring student: Never trust other Masters, for no matter how appealing they may appear, you'll only end up with a knife in the back once they show their true colours."

Shirou seemed to come to a decision.

"Rin…I'm…I-"

He took a breath

"I'm sorry. I can't explain, not yet, but if you wait-"

"Save it. You've made your position perfectly clear."

Rin stood suddenly, not even looking at Shirou.

"Don't bother to show me out."

Without a backwards glance she spun and left, and Shirou let his face fall into his hands.

* * *

><p>-The Present-<p>

Shirou raised his head, as he heard the door slide open behind him, and Saber entered the room. He didn't look up as she sat down, instead staring at the table.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"I did not attempt to eavesdrop, but I could not avoid hearing some of Rin's…more vocal thoughts. While I do not know whether or not to believe her doubts, I will give my Master the benefit of the doubt. Your reaction to my summoning was certainly genuine, and you would have no reason to lie to me on this. However, if you are experienced, I would prefer you tell me now so as that we can maximise our effectiveness."

Saber's voice was once again cold, and despite her words, it was obvious that Shirou had lost some of the trust and friendship he had won last night. He gave another sigh.

'_Perfect. I've screwed up my relationship with both Saber and Rin, and my planning. What a wonderful night's work.'_

"Sorry, Saber, but tonight was the first I've heard of the Grail War. Heck, I didn't even know Rin was a magus before tonight."

'_All technically true. It's not my fault that I've had two 'tonights', after all.'_

"Very well, Master. Now, I wish to discuss your actions last night with you. I prefer-"

And then Saber's stomach growled. It was such stupid timing that Shirou almost started laughing. A life-and-death discussion, being interrupted by something as trivial as hunger. Then again, a hungry Saber was never trivial. His mind drifted back to the day he had tried to put off lunch, and the image of Saber in full armour and wielding Torashinai.

'_That was scarier than Berserker… best avoid that scenario.'_

He raised himself to prepare some food. At least that might take both his and Saber's minds off the incident-.

Or at least he tried to. As he tried to stand, his chest seemed to erupt in fire and he almost collapsed. Stopping, Shirou quickly raised his shirt and, eyes widened, took in the sight. His chest was covered in bandages, bandages which were gradually turning red before his eyes. The pain disappeared as fast as it had arrived, but it left his mind reeling.

'_What? Why am I still injured? Avalon should have taken care of this!'_

* * *

><p>-Rin's Home-<p>

Rin collapsed on the couch in her living room, too tired to get changed or go to bed. She was just about to go to sleep when her Servant materialised in front of her. Belatedly, Rin realised that he had been absent for the majority of the evening. She tried to level herself up, and met with partial success. While she was now upright, her head was swimming, and her eyes were gradually closing.

"Archer. M'need tea. T'll you 'bout night."

Archer translated her command from 'sleepy-Rin' and went over to the kettle, not paying all that much attention to his sleepy Master.

'_She'll have allied herself to him, at least until Berserker is defeated. Killing the boy is going to be difficult, but I have some ideas. I could catch him 'accidentally' in one of my larger attacks, or I could wait-'_

Archer awoke from his musing as the kettle let out a screech. With practiced motions, he prepared Rin's drink, making it slightly bitterer than she was used to in an effort to wake her up. Behind him, he heard his Master making some comments about 'naïve', 'foolish', 'pathetic'.

"Don't worry, Master. It was obvious from the start."

Rin's glazed over eyes became more focused, and her tone became dangerous.

'_I'm not sure what I said, but at least she's awake now.'_

"Are you saying that my naivety and foolishness was obvious, Servant?"

'_Waitwhat? HER naivety? Weren't we walking about how stupid my past self is?'_

"Wait, weren't you talking about Sh- that other Master? I was saying that his naivety was obvious, and that such a failure of a magus shouldn't pose a threat to you"

"And if _you_ had been listening, you would have heard me say that that 'failure of a magus' played me like a fool. He's smarter than he seems, and is certainly not naïve. I was berating my own foolishness for trusting h-"

Anything further by Rin was cut off as Archer dropped the boiled kettle on his foot.

* * *

><p>AN: Poor Archer (heh, poor Shirou) just had his brain scrambled. He'll probably recover by next chapter, but the shock might keep him absent for it. Oh, and he's still heavily wounded and might find it dangerous to leave the house in solid form. That too.<p>

Aaand this chapter marks the first main diversion from Fate. Poor, poor Shirou. All his planning just imploded. Expect this to be common.

And on a different note, Avalon seems to be having troubles once the user is healed out of the mortal danger 'zone'. I wonder why? I totally don't have a plan for where this is going. Honest. Also, don't assume anything in relation to Berserker's sword breaking. It might be Avalon, it might be Shirou's 'made of Swords' aspect, it might be something completely different. Once again, it totally isn't planned. *completely innocent expression*

Next chapter: Shirou makes excuses, but is probably going to have to suffer another 'poor Shirou' moment. He MIGHT go to school, or Saber might pull him into a discussion, or Taiga might object to him going to school when he is injured. Oh, and he's going to have to explain that, which should prove interesting.


	6. Chapter Five: Mix ups and Explanations

Chapter 5: Mix ups and explanations

Disclaimer: I own nothing about FSN other than this story. Please don't sue me.

AN: I have a Beta. Huzzah! If you notice any improvements, you should thank RR121

Last chapter: Rin explains her distrust of Shirou, Avalon isn't at 100% for _some_ reason and Archer gets his brain fried. In other words, a typical bad night for the Emiyas

* * *

><p>Despite Shirou's protests that he would be fine, Saber was enforcing a period of mandatory bed rest on her Master. Much to her annoyance, he was not proving to be the most cooperative person she had met, and she had finally decided to sit outside his room after he had tried to make a break for the kitchen. While she had almost been tempted by her Master's offer of food, she had resisted at the last moment. This, it seems, had been her Master's last hope of escape as he had yet to try and leave again.<p>

Saber sat back, and began to try to formulate a strategy that would allow her to defeat Berserker. She simply hoped that Hercules did not have as many Passive Phantasms as Lancelot had.

* * *

><p>As Saber strategized, Shirou was also planning.<p>

_'The things I need to deal with first are the people who will hurt civilians, so Shinji and Caster. Kirei can't be touched for now, but at least I'll be able to get the drop on him. Still, without Rin, destabilizing the Bloodfort is going to be difficult. Maybe the physical destruction of the seals would work for a while... Gilgamesh dealt with Caster last time, so I should try and work out her identity... but all I know is that she had some kind of dagger as a Phantasm, and she used those weird skeletons. Then again, Saber can ignore Caster's magic, so maybe she isn't such a threat. So, Shinji first, then Caster, then find some way to get Kirei involved directly.'_

Glad to have some kind of plan, Shirou turned his attention to the newly arisen matter of Avalon. He HAD nearly healed, despite Saber's disbelief, but the fact the wound was still a problem at all had him worried. He would have died many times without Saber's scabbard, and if he had damaged it he had no idea how Saber would beat Gilgamesh. He almost decided to remove it to check it over when Saber opened the door.

"Master, I sense two people approaching the house. They do not seem dangerous, but I felt I should enquire whether or not they are likely to be hostile, and what you would have me do in such a case."

Shirou let out a breath of relief. Was that all it was?

"Don't worry, Saber. It'll be just Taiga and Sakura. Still, would you mind answering the door? I need to make a start on the food, otherwise Taiga will get angry..."

Saber seemed to give him a weird look, but eventually her hunger won her over, and she stood to let Sakura and Taiga in.

A moment after Saber had left; Shirou felt he was forgetting something. When he heard the door open, he was sure he was forgetting something. When he heard the familiar "Good morning, Shirou/Senpai" morph into "Good mor- who are _you?_", Shirou was already pelting towards the front door in a panic.

Needless to say, he didn't make it in time.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Shirou once again found himself at the table being yelled at. Well, Taiga was yelling, Sakura seemed to be glaring (well, as much as Sakura glared) at him reproachfully and Saber... Well, she was on her fourth bowl of rice and didn't seem to be offering assistance. Who could have known that the most famous King of England, the wielder of Excalibur, the paragon of chivalry and nobility and the single most famous knight in all history didn't like acting as a doorman?<p>

"Well, Shirou. Care to give me a proper explanation as to how this" Taiga paused her tirade, pointing at the still-calm Saber "is here at this hour in the morning. And no-one believes your previous excuse."

Shirou wondered if everything in his life was destined to go wrong. His previous explanation hadn't been all that coherent, what with Shirou arriving in a rather dilapidated state and trying to speak several words at once, all too different people. Finally, steeling himself, he started his plan to distract Taiga while he came up with an excuse that didn't involve calling Saber his relative. Best to avoid any possible future awkwardness that would arise from _that _situation.

_'Step one, offer a bowl of food._

_Step two, wait until Taiga is eating, then place another bowl of food down in front of her._

_Step three, wait for Taiga to try and pick up the new bowl while at the same time putting down the old bowl and in her moment of confusion..._

_Step four, calmly use the remote to turn on the TV as Taiga is occupied juggling bowls_

_Last step, hope that the news is inter-'_

"Another murder victim has-"

"_Senpai..._"

_'Ah. I knew I forgot someone...'_

Shirou turned slowly. While his ploy had successfully distracted Taiga, Sakura was staring at him disapprovingly, her entire posture telling him that she wouldn't be so easily distracted.

Suddenly, the words from the TV gave him an idea which could explain her presence and his state of disarray when they had arrived. He decided to tell the truth. To a certain extent, anyway.

_'I hope Kirei's 'from a certain point of view' habit isn't rubbing off on me...'_

"Sorry for hiding this, but I didn't want to worry you. The truth is that I stayed out late helping out around the school. Well, I was on my way back when I almost got mugged. I got hurt, but then Saber here turned up and saved me. As it turns out, she had been looking for me, or at least my dad. I was hurt, but she managed to get me home. She came here suddenly, so she didn't organize a place to stay, so I'm letting her stay here."

Both Sakura and Taiga were silent, and Saber turned to look at her Master curiously.

'_He seems unusually competent at telling half-truths. Everything was technically correct, if you considered Lancer a mugger.'_

Saber paused, giving a tiny smile as her imagination supplied Lancer's reaction to being called a common thug. The smile vanished as she thought more about her Master's 'truth telling' skill. She would have to pay careful attention to all his answers for possible alternate interpretations.

After a moment of stunned disbelief, Taiga shot up in anger.

"As if! That has got to be the most pathetic lie I've ev-errr..."

She trailed off, as Shirou showed his bandaged torso. Saber noticed as Sakura blushed and turned her head away, and took the opportunity to take another bowl. Still, it looked like her Master could use assistance, so…

A cool voice broke in to Shirou's and Taiga's argument and Shirou turned to Saber gratefully.

"What Shirou has said is true. I did indeed know Mr. Emiya, though it has been awhile since we last met."

Taiga seemed somewhat mollified, and Sakura gave Shirou a weak smile. Glad that his 'truth' had been accepted, Shirou turned his thoughts to the near future, especially Shinji. Thinking about his one-time friend made Shirou's thoughts darken, and he only awoke from this mood when Sakura stood and began to prepare to go to school. He suddenly remembered what happened this morning, with Shinji hitting Sakura.

_'I really should get ready too. If I'm there I'll be able to stop it, and Shinji is nearest to Kirei and Gilgamesh on the list of people I hate, so it's not like I have to worry about offending him.'_

However, as he moved to get his shoes a cool voice behind him made him stop.

"Shirou, what are you doing?"

He turned, and noticed Saber standing behind him, hands on her hips and looking annoyed. Taiga looked on silently, taking the opportunity of Saber's absence to finish off the food.

Shirou decided to play this as he had in his last 'life'.

"Going to school?"

Saber opened her mouth to begin a tirade, but another voice broke in, this one unexpected.

"Absolutely not!"

_'Taiga?'_

Saber turned towards her unexpected ally and offered a brief smile of gratitude. Then she brought her disapproval back to bear on Shirou.

"You will be doing nothing of the kind!"

_'Now Saber?'_

He opened his mouth to object when a third voice interrupted.

"It would be better if you didn't, Senpai."

_'And even Sakura?'_

Shirou looked between Sakura's concerned gaze, Saber's 'stubborn face' and Taiga's look of frustration and decided that this was a battle even Avalon would not be able to help with. He moved back to the dining room, and began to move the dishes to the sink when he heard Saber cough meaningfully. With a sigh, he headed back to his room, possibly closing the door with more force than strictly necessary.

_'I am so very whipped. I hope Rin is there with Sakura, though.'_

* * *

><p>After around fifteen minutes, enough time to make sure both Taiga and Sakura had left the house, Shirou cautiously opened his door and found Saber on the other door. Apparently both Master and Servant had decided it best that they talked with the other. Shirou spoke first;<p>

"Ah, Saber. Could you walk with me? I have something that I need to talk to you about."

"Very well, Master. However, I have something that I feel will be important to our strategy."

Shirou lead Saber out to the dojo, giving her a brief tour of the house on the way. With her having looked after him during his injury, he couldn't be sure that she knew where everything was. He nearly knocked on Rin's door before opening, but remembered himself just in time.

'_She's not here. And it's my fault. I'll need to address that as soon as possible. Maybe try and convince her that we have a common enemy outside of Berserker…'_

Shirou's thoughts trailed off, and he turned away from the still-closed door and made his way directly to the dojo, a now-confused Saber following.

Upon opening the dojo, Shirou lead Saber inside and turned to Saber, indicating that she should start talking about what she had mentioned earlier. As he expected, it turned out that Saber was…less than amused with her Master's antics last night.

"Master, while I am grateful that you risked your life to save mine last night, I must point out that if you die then I will also. Our existences are linked and as such your action, while brave, was pointless. I must insist that in this War you leave the fighting to me. As a human, especially as a low-level Magus you must NOT risk yourself."

"Saber, I understand-"

Saber felt a _but _coming and braced herself. Sure enough...

"-but I am not going to let you fight alone. That's why I brought you here. Saber, as your Master I am a failure as a Magus. I cannot cast destructive magic to cover you, nor can I heal or support you indirectly. The one thing I am capable of is of limited use in combat, which is why I ask you to train me in sword fighting."

Saber let out a sigh. She should have expected this.

"Master, it is unnecessary for you to learn to fight. Even with years of training, you would never be able to defeat a Servant in battle. That is why I was summoned. I _am _your sword in this conflict, Master, and I _will _defeat our foes, even if you are unable to provide support."

Shirou remembered this line from last time and after a moment's thought came up with a response that seemed, to him, to make sense.

"Saber, I know that I wouldn't be able to defeat a Servant. It's just that… this way I can gain some kind of battle experience without the danger of injury. I haven't been in a fight in my life, and if I froze up in our War at the wrong time all your skill would be rendered useless. After all, even the best sword can only win if it is wielded by a skilled arm."

Saber looked at Shirou strangely, and Shirou thought back to what he had said.

'_That…sounded much better in my head. "Even the best sword can only win if wielded by a skilled arm". Talk about clichéd lines.'_

Saber, in the meantime, was actually considering Shirou's words. While she did not support the idea of teaching her Master to fight, in case he tried to fight a Servant without support, his reasoning about battle experience seemed to make sense. Furthermore, he did not appear to be entirely without a brain. She believed that he would not challenge another Master without first calling on her for aid.

"…very well, Master. I must confess surprise that you have never fought before, though. Last night you parried well, and held your cool under adverse circumstances. _'Adverse circumstances such as Berserker charging you directly.'_ It might be that you have some innate skill at fighting."

Shirou looked away, rubbing his head and giving a small, nervous laugh.

'_At least that might explain anything I picked up from last time's sparring sessions.'_

Saber, in the mean time, had begun trying to work out if this would change anything in her planning. At least, this would make her Master more of a threat to other Masters. Possibly more so than her enemies might expect, especially from a 'useless' Magus. From what she remembered, Magi tended towards the more… arcane and ranged forms of combat, and being engaged in close range combat might actually give her Master a chance to emerge victorious. However, even with this development, her overall battle plan changed little.

Another thing came to Saber's mind: her Master had mentioned something about reinforcement as a specialty of his. For a moment, Saber began to consider the tactical applications of this. If Shirou was able to reinforce as quickly and well has he had last night, it was entirely possible that he would be able to reinforce his clothing as armor, and possibly even reinforce his own body and physical abilities. And seeing as he had managed to deflect a blow from _Berserker_… To her surprise, this 'useless' magic seemed to have several applications against other Masters, which all bore further investigation.

Due to Saber being first and foremost a swordmaster, it was easy to forget that she had been personally tutored by quite possibly the greatest magus of all time. Merlin had taken on the girl at a young age, and had spent much of her early life instructing her on the all manner of things, including applications of magic. While she herself had no talent at the art, the hours spent with the master mage had given her a mind far beyond that of a simple swordswinger, and a strong knowledge of the theory of many different types of magic. Saber gave a faint smile. It seemed that her Master might not be a complete burden.

Shirou noticed her smile, and began to smile along with her. This time, Saber didn't look to be as averse to the idea of her Master assisting her as she had last time. Then again, he wasn't being an idiot and trying to keep Saber 'safe at home', so maybe she had always been somewhat open to the idea of assistance. He shook his thoughts away, and moved over to the practice swords, picking up two (making sure not to include a certain demonic sword). A second later, and he was handing the second to Saber. Even as he brought his up to the 'en garde' position, Saber held out a hand, stopping him.

"Shirou, please reinforce your weapon. I wish to test if your Reinforcement will be of any use in this war."

Despite his slight confusion, it was the work of a moment to reinforce the sword. Shirou held it out, and Saber brought down a double-handed blow on the newly-reinforced sword. Which held. Saber gave another smile.

'_Yes, it seems that my Master is hardly as helpless as I had first assumed.'_

With that, Saber brought her blade up, and the dojo filled with the sound of wood on (to Saber's surprise) wood.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, the MasterServant pair emerged, Shirou holding his bruises and Saber looking thoughtful. While her Master had lost the fake fights badly, he had performed far beyond her expectations. The mere fact that a total beginner had successfully parried (some) of her attacks was both aggravating and hopeful. It was like he had held a sword, and had fought her before… she shook her head. Her Master had told her that his hands hadn't touched a sword in earnest before today, and he had no reason to lie. She hadn't sensed any kind of lie and even with his habit of half-truths there was a limit to how far words could be twisted.

As she thought, Shirou was already heading back to his room to rest. There was little more he could do today, but he had an idea for tonight which would require him to be fully rested. Shirou laid down on his bed, and began to dream.

A dream of swords and blood and betrayal filled his resting hours.

* * *

><p>AN: Yeah, despite Saber underestimating Shirou a bit, and Shirou having previous experience in fighting Saber, he didn't land a single blow on her. Poor, physically abused Shirou. The things people go through in efforts to change the future or would that be the past. Or maybe the present, I guess. Huzzah for Time Travel Tense confusion.<p>

Shirou avoids using the previous explanation for Saber as if she stays as his partner (not in the Servant/Master sense. Obviously. Unless they're into that sort of- BAD THOUGHTS!) it might get a bit awkward. Enough 'family romance awkwardness' from Code Geass and Evangelion, thank you very much.

The scene where Taiga and Sakura 'meet' Saber and the "whipped Shirou" line both made me grin to write. Probably shouldn't enjoy that as much as I did.

On a different note, it's sorta depressing just how many things from Arturia's life can be summed up in "swords and blood and betrayal". But exactly what he's dreaming about will be gotten into next chapter. +5 awesomepoints (collect 1000 to trade for one command seal for HopelessRomanticist (Class: Writer)) to anyone who guesses exactly what he'll be dreaming about (Well, not including RR121).

Last note: Anyone interested in this story having a properly characterised Sakura, please contact me. Neither RR121 or myself can really get her as a character, so... yeah. If no-one does then Sakura might be a bit OOC.

Next Chapter: Shirou dreams, and then goes off to do something stupid (no way!), the Bloodfort story-arc begins and Rin and Archer make reappearance.


	7. Chapter Six: The Bloodfort Arc begins

Chapter Six: The Bloodfort Arc begins

Disclaimer: I own nothing about FSN other than this story. Please don't sue me.

Oh, and the first bit is a direct adaption of Fate/Zero and the end of Fate. Again, pleasepleaseplease don't sue me.

Last chapter: Shirou and Saber tried to plan for the future Servants, Shirou forgot that Saber hadn't met Sakura and Taiga and pulled a facepalmworthy epic fail, he explained Saber's presence in a manner that made Saber suspicious, all three girls forbade him going to school and he ended his day getting beaten up by Saber. Oh, and he still has no idea why Avalon is acting screwy. In other words, one of the nicer chapters to Shirou so far. *grin* Kirei would be proud of my ability to make Shirou suffer.

Chapter Warning: Opening dream scene contains 200% of your daily recommended angst. I tried to stop it turning into wangst, but not sure how well I carried it off.

* * *

><p>Shirou dreamed of swords, and blood, and betrayal.<p>

He had arrived in the middle of a combat. In Fuyuki cit- wait. Something from Saber's past, in Fuyuki, involving combat between Servants. He was witnessing the previous Grail War. Well, this was... unexpected. Shirou turned his gaze towards to combat.

And stood shocked.

Before him, his Saber was knocked flying, silver armour already gashed and damaged. She barely managed to get her blade up as a mad roar burst forth from her enemy. For a second, Shirou is afraid that somehow he was dreaming of their first encounter with Berserker, but a glance at the surroundings told him the truth.

Saber was being beaten by a black giant of a Berserker. Again.

It would almost be funny, if it weren't so deadly serious.

Saber managed to get to her knees, when the black-armoured Servant flew towards her, and raised his dark sword in a motion that would surely-

The world stopped, as Shirou took in the sword before him. Unconsciously, he began to analyze it.

_Rage_  
><em>Hate<em>  
><em>Fury<em>  
><em>Betrayal<em>  
><em>Pain<em>  
><em>Anger<em>  
><em>Disgust<em>  
><em>Loathing<em>

Shirou's mind recoiled from the weapon before him. It inspired in him a feeling similar to Ea. The sword before him made his mind try to crawl away, but unlike Ea, where he could not understand it, he merely wished he couldn't. He has no choice but to accept the knowledge of this sword into his mind. He gave a silent cry, and fell to his knees as every aspect of the sword poured into his soul.

This sword was the opposite of everything Shirou stood for. While Shirou's ideal was based around saving, this weapon, once pure, had changed into a tool only of death and anger. Even if it was wielded by someone innocent and pure, Shirou felt as if nothing could come of this sword other than ashes and death. It seemed to be made of rage, and the very thought of such a weapon existing made Shirou almost physically ill.

The name of the weapon came to his mind involuntarily.

Arondight.

With that, the sword was no longer in his mind, and the world unpaused.

The black knight gave out a howl, and brought his blade down in an arc that smashed Saber into the ground. But Shirou could see, despite the wounds she was suffering, Saber was not fighting back. Instead, she was crying. Tears dripped down her face, and as Shirou looked, she whispered a word in disbelief.

Lancelot.

No. No. Nonononono. Not even fate would be as cruel as that. Not even the Grail would be as sadistic as to choose these two for the same war. Surely she is mistaken. Surely the knight before him is not Saber's most gallant and noble follower. Even Shirou knew the tale of Arthur and Guinevere and Lancelot, but he simply won't believe it. In that moment, the sword brought itself back into his mind in that instant, and he caught a glimpse of its history before he forced the sword from his thoughts.

A noble knight, training to serve a noble lord.  
>A noble knight, fighting for his lord.<br>Slowly, however, it begins to change.  
>A knight, fighting for his lord and lady.<br>A knight, fighting for the lady.  
>A traitor, betraying his lord for the lady.<br>A traitor, cutting down comrades to save the lady.  
>The blade staining itself black with the blood of once-comrades, erupting with a fire that ate the light around the wielder.<p>

It is no wonder Saber was crying, no wonder she cannot look at her foe directly. Of course her eyes blurred in tears, her legs buckled weakly. To find her once trusted comrade was trying to kill her with everything possible, a betrayal that great was beyond belief. Her greatest ally and friend hated her with a force that transcended time. Her trusted knight cursed her with every fiber of his being.

Shirou looked away from the fight as Berserker once more brought his blade down on Saber. But even that is not enough to block Saber's frantic cry;

"Stop!"

Shirou wished more than anything that he could unhear that tone. The despair, the desperation, the sobbing. But in the dreamscape he cannot block his ears, even if his eyes turn away.

"Stop! Please!"

Suddenly, there is a the sound of metal tearing before a weapon, and Shirou unwillingly looks back to where he is sure Saber will be found lying on the ground.

But she wasn't. Berserker, for reasons he did not understand, had hesitated, and Saber had unwittingly, unwillingly, unconsciously stabbed the black knight with her blade. Blood dripped from the invisible tip of her sword, and Shirou hears Saber's cry of shock and self-loathing.

"And even thus, I still desire the Grail."

Shirou couldn't see any more. He knew now that this, not on the bloodstained fields of Camlann, was the moment she resolved to choose another to take her place. He had no right to look at any of this, nor any words of comfort to offer her. He had played with time with a vague statement and condemned Saber in the same breath for trying to do the same, in an effort to prevent this scene playing out before him. How could he honestly tell her that her past was behind her, when he could not leave his own behind him?

* * *

><p>Saber rested her back against the wall, facing her Master's door. While she had tried to persuade him to let her sleep in the same room, her Master had been very insistent. He had offered her a bed in the adjoining room, but for tonight she had decided to guard the entrance to Shirou's room. Her Master had shown himself to have little concern for his own health, and at least this way she would be awakened if her Master tried to rise too early. Eventually, her eyelids fell, and Saber slept.<p>

To her surprise, Saber found herself in a dream. Dreams occurring on the very first night were...rare, and signaled a strong bond between Servant and Master. This, at least, made her happy. On the other hand, this dream seemed strange. Normally, dreams showed important events in the lives of the Master or Servant. This one, however, was dark. Saber could see nothing, even her heightened senses could not feel anything. Still, perhaps something would occur soon that would expla-

_**"—Angra Manyu—"**_

And Saber's world exploded in pain.

Hell. That was the only thought that managed to enter Saber's mind. Somehow she had entered hell. The darkness around her was not empty. It was an all-consuming nothingness that tore into her mind and body. She would scream, but the darkness crushes her senses and removes her voice. The void around her somehow begins to melt Saber's body. She tries to move forwards, out of her dream, but her feet find no purchase on the empty space, and her arms pass through the void. Her body is being destroyed.

A voice from the void, speaking in a corrupted, almost honeyed tone. She cannot help but feel it is talking to someone other than her. But this does not matter. Nothing matters to Saber other than the pain.

_**"—Elimination of human rights by castration, exile, execution—"**_

With each word, images crash into Saber's mind, forcing their way past what mental defenses she has and engraving them forever in her psyche.

_**"—Torture and sadism upon the body through digestion. Denial by consensus of the colony that eliminates all honor—"**_

The voice is speeding up now, and the images keep pace, crushing Saber's will under a relentless torrent of hate. The sins of the entire human race, past, present and future all at once. The voice seems to continue, but the words are drowned out by the the mental images it is forcing on her. She witnesses countless crimes, from murders to genocide to theft to rape. She witnesses countless scenes that would drive any ordinary person mad, and she is unable to scream. The dreamscape warps into a thousand shouting faces, a thousand corpses, and the honeyed voice speeds up, now shouting.

**__**"—**_**_ScornGrudgesDeath PenaltyImprisonmentCustody SelfInterestUnconsiciousCrime_**_**_** S**_**__****_elfConscious CrimeCivilWar InducementStatment TheftRobberyKidnap SuicideRape_****__****_ArsonBombing ViolationHomicideMassViolence RapeDeathConcelament LoveRespect_** **__****_SelfishConcealment MurderTheftWarCrimes AttackDirtyAtone KindnessMalignace EvilPenalty_**—"**__**

**__****__**"—**_EveryViolence EveryVictim EveryCriminal EveryCrime AtoneForEverything_**—"**__****__**

_**"—Die—"**_

_**"—DieDieDie—"**_

_**"—DieDieDieDieDie—"**_

_**"—DieDieDie DieDieDieDieDie DieDieDieDieDie—"**_

The Darkness eats away at her body, and the scenes continue to seep through her senses. She can SeeTasteSmellTouchHearThink every crime. Every violation EverCommittedWillBe CommittedIsBeingCommitted.

Darkness she cannot see engulfs her

Ugliness she cannot acknowledge embraces her

Crimes she wishes to flee

Every crime of humanity.

And Saber is catapulted from her dream.

* * *

><p>Saber's body was already moving before she was fully awake. With every sense telling her that something was <em>wrong<em>, she instinctively rolled forwards, drawing her weapon and jumping upright in a single movement.

Then she woke up.

Saber's world spun as the dream rushed into her conscious mind, and her knees gave way, letting her fall onto the mattress in the room she had just rolled into.

_'What on earth was that! If I dream at all, it should be about my Master's...'_

Her thoughts came crashing to a halt as her mind became clearer. Specifically, how she had rolled, from her position in the corridor outside her Master's bedroom, though an _open_ door onto a bed. A bed where her Master was _supposed _to be resting.

Saber desperately tried to think of a sensible explanation. Perhaps he had awoken and had needed to go to the bathro-

The field around the house pulsed once, letting Saber know that someone had just left, and she was now the only person inside.

A growl escaped Arturia's throat, her anger pushing her dream back into her mind for the moment.

She was going to have a very deep discussion with her Master. As soon as she brought him back home. And broke his legs.

She armored herself with a thought, then hurried after her suicidal Master.

Shirou was half way to school before he felt a familiar presence right behind him, and the whisper of wind that signaled someone passing him. He barely managed to think_ ''wait-' _before a very annoyed Saber appeared in front of him, gauntlets clenching and with her standard "emotionless mask" expression in place. Shirou stopped moving, and Master and Servant faced each other. Well, Servant faced Master, while Master looked at the ground in front of him.

"Surely, Master, I must be dreaming. My Master could never be as foolish as to leave the house without informing me. But perhaps there is another explanation for leaving a defensible location the night after being critically injured. Perhaps there is method to this madness?"

Shirou's brain took the opportunity to reboot itself after the panic attack he had gone through after his dream. As Saber spoke, he began to list the facts before him.

_'Ok let me work this out. After my dream, I left to try and do something about the Bloodfort at the school. Because of the dream, I tried to keep Saber safe. Again. Sometime shortly after I left, Saber must have woken up and noticed my absence. And now I have about ten seconds before Saber drags me home, and locks me in.'_

After a moment's thought, he added another thing to the list.

_'Oh, and now it's five seconds.'_

_"_I'msorryIhadabaddreamandwasn'tthinking."

Saber's face did not budge an inch.

"Slower, Master. So I can understand."

Shirou took a deep breath, and began to speak in a forced voice.

"I'm sorry. I had a very... bad dream and I wasn't thinking clearly. Normally I try and clear my head after dreams by walking around for a while, but I forgot the situation. I'm entirely to blame and-"

"I... understand."

Saber's words were soft, but Shirou heard them and looked up in surprise, catching, for a moment, an expression of exhaustion. Anyone other than Shirou would have missed it but Shirou had made a study of Saber's features and to him it stood out. It was an expression she had barely ever used and he wondered what she was thinking.

Truth be told, Saber was feeling conflicted. On one hand, her Master had committed an act of such stupidity it was astounding. On the other, her Master was an innocent boy who still thought about school, who might have just witnessed any number of brutal massacres from her own past. And she had failed to warn her Master of this possible danger. If he had seen some scenes from her past, it was no wonder he was so shell-shocked. She intentionally crushed any thoughts about her dream, and it's relation to Shirou.

In the end, at least part of the blame rested squarely on her on failings as the Servant of an inexperienced Master.

"While your actions were dangerous and not thought through, they are understandable. I would ask you not to repeat this behavior, even if you have another such dream."

_'Why is Saber being so accepting of my excuse? I was an idiot, and she seemed willing to physically force me home just before I mentioned my dream...'_

"Saber, is there anything you want to talk about?"

By now, Shirou had lifted himself up and was facing Saber. He saw her eyes widen for a moment, before she opened her mouth, seemed to think twice and lowered her head.

"I would prefer some time to think, but I thank you for the offer."

"I've always thought that people think better when walking. Would you mind walking with me for a while?"

Saber's eyes lit up. He truly was different from her previous Master.

"I would enjoy that, Shirou. This would also provide an opportune time to examine the town."

The two of them turned, and began to walk, with one thought in both heads.

_'Not to mention that I don't think that I would get much rest after tonight's dream.'_

* * *

><p>It was, of course, a complete coincidence that Shirou's path took the two past the school. And it was obviously a surprise when Shirou sensed a 'passive, yet hostile magic field around the school'. All these accidents where what lead Shirou and Saber to find themselves in school at an ungodly hour.<p>

Shirou was trying, unsuccessfully, to remove a single roof tile which was part of the bloodfort's sigil system. Saber was looking on with equal parts amusement and frustration. She had been hoping that he would be forced to call on her help, which might go some way to teaching him to leave the...ah 'heavy lifting' to her. However, it seemed she had underestimated her Master's determination. Still, this did leave her with another question.

"Master, if you insist on doing such tasks alone, why are you not using you magic?"

Shirou gave her an annoyed glare. He had already explained that he lacked the skills to break the sigils via magic.

"Because, Saber, unlike others I am not a good enough magus to dispel this."

Saber gave her Master another look, surely he knew about…

"Master, why do you not just reinforce your physical capabilities?"

"Reinforce…my physical abilities?"

A third voice, shocked and dismayed, managed to break into the conversation.

"N-no way. You don't even know about that?"

Both Saber and Shirou spun around to find Rin leaning against the roof's stairwell looking pale, and behind her…

"Why, Master, you certainly have made an enemy of a terrifying magus."

A dry, sarcastic voice that Shirou knew.

Archer.

* * *

><p>AN: and so begins the bloodfort story arc. Probably going to be around four or so chapters for this arc.<p>

HR's random recommendations: Leonard Cohen (esp "Everybody knows", "The Future", "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "First we take Manhattan")

HR's random book/anime recommendation: The Once and Future King


	8. Chapter Seven: Temporary Alliance

**Author Note: ...um, hiya? I'm really incredibly sorry for the massive wait. I have a list of excu-_reasons_, but no-one is probably interested. Anyways, I just have to say a few things before you can get started.**

**Firstly, I'd like to thank Caellach Tiger Eye for recommending my work on TvTropes list of recommended Fate/Stay Night fanfics (/FanficRecs/FateStayNight). Never thought something of mine would be up there unless I put it up myself.  
><strong>

**Secondly, I hate this chapter. You have no _idea_ how much I hate this chapter. I tried rewriting it seven times, and I still hate it. Badly written doesn't even begin to describe it. However, I'm uploading this for a few reasons. Firstly, I figured that something was better than nothing. Secondly, I'm obviously driven myself into a rut with editing and rewriting this chapter, so maybe I should just move on and come back to it later. Thirdly, my personal motivation has been drained like you wouldn't believe by this chapter. Just publishing _something_ and moving on to the plot and action of the next chapter might make me more motivated.**

Anyways, a quick summary of what happened last chapter, just in case you've forgotten what this story is:

Thanks to the dream-bond between Servants and Masters, Shirou dreamed of the Fourth War Lancelot duel and Saber got a nasty dose of when Kirei Angra Mainyu'ed Shirou (the first time). Both were shaken by this, and Shirou decided to try and deal with the Bloodfort alone thanks to his panic. Saber noticed, and disagreed. Both agreed to a walk to clear their heads, and the path they took 'accidentally' lead to the school, where Shirou 'noticed' the Bloodfort and both decided to get back to work. Shirou was trying to physically destroy sigils when Saber mentioned Personal Reinforcement, which Shirou admitted to not knowing. Around here, Rin walked in. End summary, and time to start...

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><p><strong>Fate ReNight Chapter 7: Temporary Alliance**

—

-Homurahara Gakuen, Fuyuki Private School, Classroom A2-

The atmosphere in Professor Kuzuki's classroom was usually tense, with a very strict teacher who did _not_tolerate antics. Of course, it was unlikely it had ever been _this_tense.

Saber stood behind her Master, her hands quite obviously holding her invisible sword. Rin was standing, with a desk in between her and Shirou and keeping herself outside of Saber's immediate attack range. Archer was standing beside her, and while he didn't seem to be carrying any weapons, Saber knew better than most how easy it was to conceal a weapon in plain sight. Shirou, meanwhile, was fighting back both an impending headache and his desire to punch Archer's smirk off his face.

That would hardly be productive to the ongoing negotiations, would it?

In a way, everything was looking positive for the first time this whole War. Rin, after many sarcastic, dry comments from her Servant (Shirou was in awe at someone being able to tease Rin so fearlessly) had admitted that there was a possibility that she had read too much into Shirou's behavior.

As it turned out, personal reinforcement was supposedly one of the most basic skills of any Magus. Shirou did wonder for an instant why Rin had not mentioned it before, but perhaps she had assumed he knew it already. Anyway, his accidental admittance of being unaware of this seemed to have tipped Rin from regarding him as a competent, sneaky, brilliant Magus into a bumbling fool who only survived through luck and divine intervention. While he...didn't _enjoy _this description, at least Rin was willing to listen to him. Well, listen to him after asking many, many questions on his magical background (his adoptive father was a magus), his magic crest (he didn't have one), why he didn't have one (his father considered family to be more important than magic. This had caused a stir from Rin, and he was _sure_he had heard Saber draw a startled breath).

But Shirou, while paying some attention to Rin, had focused mostly on her Servant. Archer had proven himself to be an incredibly helpful, knowledgeable ally in his previous war. His seemingly insensitive comments had lead to Shirou unlocking his abilities, and in the end Archer had sacrificed himself holding up Berserker, and _somehow_ had taken nearly half of Hercules' lives. Which really should be impossible for anyone besides the most powerful of Servants. Either Archer had spent much of the war hiding a powerful Noble Phantasm on the same level as Caliburn or Excalibur, or he had the ability to wield multiple high-level Phantasms. And while revealing his time-travelling nature to Saber or Rin would prove disastrous, Archer was a possible confidant and ally, especially if he somehow could convince him of the nature of the Grail, and make him give up his wish.

_'If only I knew who he was. And how he managed to kill Berserker as many times as he did, only to be surprised and nearly killed by Saber.'_

He heard Rin start talking again, and Shirou returned to paying attention.

"Fine, so you are an inexperienced, ignorant, and I use the next word very loosely, magus. What were you doing in the school at this time, and _why_were you trying to demolish the roof?"

_'At last! Questions that are important!'_

"I had...unusual dream that woke me. After talking with Saber, we decided that if I wasn't going to get any more sleep, we might as well scout out the town. As I passed the school, I felt a-" here Shirou paused, trying to remember the first time had felt the Bloodfort "-an intense draining sensation around my heart."

Saber gave Shirou a strange look that went unnoticed by all but Archer. He certainly hadn't seemed to feel such an experience. Then again, her Master did seem to be the sort to bottle up and hide pain. Her dream flashed to her mind once again. She hoped the dream was just another side-effect of the unusual summoning ritual. After all, surely it was impossible for such a...normal? boy to experience what she felt sure was pure evil.

She pulled herself away from those thoughts as her Master, apparently having mostly convinced Archer's Master of his innocence, put forwards the possibility of an alliance.

"Tohsaka, I'm not entirely sure what's going on, nor am I a competent enough magus to do anything by myself. However, even I can tell that this field around the school threatening the lives of everyone there. I need your help to save Taiga, Sakura, and everyone else. Could we at least team up until this is dealt with?"

Rin's thoughts were rather jumbled and confused, truth be told. On one hand it seemed she had been far too paranoid and suspicious of Shirou, but on the other something _still_ wasn't sitting right. Sure, he had explained some of his behavior, but his actions at the church, and the disguised eagerness with which he had jumped at his Masterdom... Still, this meant little. She owed Shirou an enormous debt for his actions last night, and she'd be damned if she owed anyone, especially a slightly-suspicious Master any favors. At least with this request, she'd be freed from that.

"Very well then. I don't quite trust you, but I do owe you one for Berserker, so we'll ally until the Master threatening the school is defeated, then go our separate ways."

From Saber's position, she could see Shirou's shoulders slump, though she could not tell if it was from disappointment or relief. Tactically, his decision made sense: working with a Servant who she already knew she could defeat (if only in ambush so far) to preemptively defeat a threat who would only get stronger if left alone. Still, she would have preferred Shirou to have discussed the situation with her _before_making such an important move.

Shirou and Rin shook hands, sealing the deal before Shirou took the lead and begun showing Rin where the sigils were located. Archer faded from existence, and Saber took a step back from the two Masters. There was no need to act overly-intimidating with their new ally, was there?

—

-Emiya Compound Dojo, Afternoon-

Several hours later, Shirou collapsed onto his back in the dojo. While he had been sure Saber had forgiven his actions, it seemed that she did see it as a fault that needed to be beaten out of him, and she was taking to her task with a frightening level of enthusiasm.

_'At __least__ things__ seem__ to __be __working __their __way __back __to __normal.'_ The alliance with Rin alleviated a large part of his nervousness in the current timeline. After that had happened, he had tried to pull back his interference as much as he dared, but seeing as things were now looking up, he had decided to find small ways to improve the lives of everyone around him.

Luckily, while Rin had not been there to prevent Shinji from assaulting Sakura, it seems Issei had been near enough to jump in and defuse the situation before Shinji got out of hand. Shirou made a mental note to thank Issei for protecting Sakura. After all, it was his fault that Issei had had to intervene. Still, the near-incident gave Shirou an excuse to invite Sakura to stay over. This way, Sakura would escape any possible fallout from Shinji's Masterdom. Taiga had initially objected, but Shirou had managed to use the almost-attack as an example of why Sakura should be away from home, at least until he spoke with Shinji... With any luck, Shinji would improve once he lost his Servant, and maybe then Sakura could return safely.

Saber had, at first, been against the decision, but after he explained Shinji and Sakura's history of this, she had relented. The threat of a command seal (Shirou felt awful doing so, but this wasn't something he was going to budge on) had reinforced his determination to Saber. Come to think of it, this might be why Saber was whaling on him with such vigor.

That thought brought him back to the dojo, as Saber began to get impatient towards her trainee Master. With a sigh, Shirou stood and put himself in the engarde position. The duel begun, with Shirou managing to parry and twist out of the way of Saber's unusually forceful blow. Even as he wondered what he had now done, Saber launched into a lunge that seemed unusually sloppy for her. In fact, he was sure he could see an openin-

Ah

_This _he remembered. On one of their earliest bouts 'last' war, Shirou had thought himself improving when he saw an opening in an attack similar to this one. He had launched in, only to find it a trap, and to receive a sharp lesson as to _why_ Servants were the legends they were. The embarrassment, and the pain in that duel was surpassed only by the lunchtime practice fiasco towards the end of the war.

Shirou, in a moment of pettiness after having a frustrating morning, decided to abuse his knowledge and not only avoid the trap, but to turn it on itself.

At Saber's next attack, Shirou 'fell' for the trick opening, slashing down at her exposed left shoulder. As expected, Saber brought her blade around, dodging the attack while cutting horizontally at his exposed left side. Then Shirou moved, twisting to avoid the much, _much_ faster attack while bringing his blade upwards in an attempt to land a blow on the underside of her arm. He felt Saber's weapon miss its target, glancing off his shoulder, while his blade kept rising...

And Saber, somehow, saw the attack a moment before it touched, even with her own arm obscuring her view. Most would have widened their eyes, or thought a couple of unsavory words before disarmament. Saber, however, was not most people. She was among the most skilled swordfighters who had lived. In a movement too fast to follow, reacting entirely on combat instinct, Saber twisted her upper torso, taking her arm out of the attack while using the turn to smash her weapon into Shirou's arm, sending his sword and his body flying in two different directions. The sword bounced twice, before rolling to rest against a wall. Shirou did the same.

_'As if I needed more proof that changing the timeline was a bad idea... Last time didn't hurt this much.'_

Shirou staggered to his feet, head still spinning and arm aching beyond belief. He began to move towards his sword when a quiet voice stopped him.

"Shirou, please wait. I feel that we should take a break. Could you possibly make collect the lunch so we can have it early?"

"Sure, Saber. I'll be back in a minute." his arm throbbed "Make that three minutes. I'll need some ice for my arm."

Without hearing a negative reply, Shirou left, leaving the Servant deep in thought.

—

It was actually five minutes between his departure and return, but no-one was counting. Shirou, ice pressed against his arm, ate quite rapidly. It had been his idea to train, and if Saber thought he was slacking off...

Upon finishing, he looked up and saw Saber a quarter of the way through her dish. Her _first_dish. He had made three for her.

_'O...k. Something is really wrong. Let's see what it is.'_

"Saber..."

Upon hearing Shirou's voice, Saber brought herself back to the present, and noticed Shirou's questioning gaze. She put down her food and, to Shirou's surprise, pushed it away.

"I must apologize, Master, for that last blow. In truth I was reacting entirely on instinct before I realized what was happening, so I forgot to hold back. Master, I must know something truthfully. Please do not boast or try to impress me, as this is a serious matter. Do you understand what just happened, or was it accidental?"

_'It might have been luck. There's no reason to think that my Master would lie about his skill or experience...'_

"I...think I get it. That last round you were purposefully leaving openings in your style to try and trap me. But I had noticed from the two fights yesterday that the skill and speed you showed meant that any opening that I saw would be a fake. So I tried to leave an opening my attack so I could know where you'd be positioned so I'd land a blow. However, I failed both the initial dodge and the attack."

"You failed to dodge?"

"Yeah, your blade glanced off my shoulder when I tried to dodge. So even if I had hit, you still won."

"...Shirou. I will be honest with you. Despite your initial skill at swordsmanship, I agreed mostly in an attempt to show you the difference in ability between humans and Servants in an effort to make you focus on avoiding Servants all together and concentrating only on the Masters. However, given your observations over the two battles you have observed, it seems you have arrived at that conclusion yourself. However, with your instant analysis of the situation, and your split-second plan you almost landed the winning blow."

Shirou tried to object, saying that she had hit first, but she held up her hand and he fell silent.

"Whether or not my blow hit first does not change the facts. If we had been wielding true blades, my attack would have done little more than it did with practice weapons. Compare it to your attack, which would have cut off my arm at the joint had it landed."

She paused, before standing swiftly, mostly ignoring the food.

"I need to ask once more, Master. Have you received any training with a sword?"

Shirou took a moment to form his answer:

"Before meeting you, I haven't had a proper sword teacher. Taiga occasionally tried to teach, and I have done some work alone, but other than that..."

Once again, Saber couldn't detect any falsehood in Shirou's statement. After having ruled alone for many years, including matters of justice, Saber was sure of her ability to tell if someone was lying. She was still feeling suspicious; her Master was not telling the whole truth. Then again, he _never_seemed to tell everything. Perhaps he was more private and secretive than she had thought... Anyway, she had taken the opportunity to check her Master's hands for the calluses that should have formed after constant practice, but had felt nothing... Still, his almost-success brought up a greater issue, one that posed a risk to his safety.

"Master, while I realize that this success might encourage you to develop a 'fake opening style', I must insist that you do not. Such a style, while potentially effective, would be far far too risky to use. You would have to leave real openings to trap skilled opponents who would not fall for fake ones, and a single failure in the style would be deadly. Please, Master, can you promise me that you will not practice this technique?"

Shirou gave a brief nod, not really listening due to his relief in avoiding a potential time-explosion.

_'That does it. No more messing with time for my own amusement. Far too dangerous.'_

—

In the evening, Sakura arrived looking much improved. Together, they managed to make enough food for everyone, though the supplies were running dangerously low. After the meal, Shirou showed Sakura to the guest room (he managed to avoid calling it Rin's room) and promptly collapsed on his bed. No dreams disturbed his short rest.

A few hours later, Saber quietly shook him awake and the pair snuck out of the house and headed towards the school, meeting with Rin and Archer. There, the two Masters got to work countering the sigils. Hours later, Shirou was sure that most of the fort had been destabilized, and both humans agreed to meet again the next night to wipe any more sigils that appeared tomorrow.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Again, I apologise for the quality of this update. Just felt it better to get something out than to leave myself stuck on this chapter for who knows how long? Still it's very likelly I'll come back and change this chapter when I get the chance, so it probably won't stay this bad for the whole story.<br>**

**At least next chapter will (hopefully) be written faster, at a higher quality and significantly more interesting. Also, it'll be the chapter where you'll get your first glimpse into just what I have planned. Let's just say that one of the most hated Nasu characters will be making an apperance, and that if you've only watched the anime you won't know who it (a very fitting term for this character) is.**

**HR, out.**


	9. Chapter Eight: Unexpected Developments

AN: I once compared my writing to a Great Old One. It only happens once in a thousand years, when the stars align. Luckily (I guess) for you, the stars of motivation, free time and two reviews (Aishata and DarkMegaSF) all aligned and awoke me from my slumber of a million years. On a more serious note, I'm so, so, so sorry. I started writing this, then took a break and ran into Touhou. Yeah that... didn't help. And then Katawa Shoujo came out (Lilly was beyond wonderful). And then I found and finished (and mostly understood!) Umineko. Oh, and I got my migraines every 5-6 weeks, and had a couple of exams, but those weren't really my fault.

BACK ON TOPIC, the silver lining of the really really long wait is that now I have every detail planned out for the next few story arcs, and I have completely sorted the whole plot and most of the details for the whole story. Huzzah! So as recompense for the wait, you can ask me questions via PM or review about ReNight and I'll answer them. Probably. Of course, that means you'll have to choose whether or not to risk spoiling what's coming, but yeah. Ask away. Or shout at me for this obvious attempt to distract you from the fact I didn't update in 4 months, when last chapter I said: "At least next chapter will (hopefully) be written faster". I feel like such a jerk...

As normal, I feel that I should have spent more time editing (instead of playing Touhou/Umineko/KS etc), but when the most recent reviews arrived I realised that if I put updating off any longer I might as well forget ever updating again.

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><p>Full story recap (in case you've forgotten. Not that I could blame you):<p>

Saber's Excaliblast fails to completely destroy the Grail. After she's vanished, Shirou said something that could be counted as a wish ("I want to go back"). The Grail remanants decide to interpret this as a time-travel wish and Shirou got forced back to the night he summoned Saber. With the knowledge he had, he managed to avoid Saber getting Gae Bolged, but in turn this caused Archer to take a harder hit from the uninjured Saber. Rin talked to him, and eventually took him to the church. Talk with Kirei blah blah blah. Rin gets suspicious as Shirou is surprisingly willing to join the Grail War.

Then, Berserker. Saber manages to fight him better (no wound from Lancer), but still losing. Rin tries to kill Ilya, who sics Hercules on her. Shirou manages to block Hercules once with Reinforcement, but then gets batted away. Saber gets up, and then smashed down around this time. Just when she's about to be killed, Shirou does his suicidal thing and takes the hit. Ilya retreates, Shirou unconcious.

Shirou heals, but finds that Rin is incredibly suspicious, accusing Shirou of being a manipulative magus (not asking Kirei or Rin questions about the War, getting along well with Saber, not acting surprised about anything, kinda-fighting Hercules etc). She storms out when Shirou can't explain. Also, warns Archer of Shirou being a 'traditional' magus, which...surprises him. Shirou finds Avalon isn't working at fully capacity, only having partially healed him after 'serker.

That morning, Saber is introduced to Taiga and Sakura. He uses his injury to explain her presence (calling Lancer a mugger who assaulted him, only for Saber to save him), but that means he is held back from school by the three girls, who all think going to school with such an injury is incredibly stupid. Saber also gets slightly suspicious of her Master's skill at not-technically-lying. Taiga and Sakura leave, and Saber has a talk with her Master. He requests sword training, blah blah blah nothing very new.

That night, Shirou dreams of Saber v Lancelot, and Saber gets her Angra Mainyu dream. He wakes up first and, panicking, decides to try and finish the Bloodfort thing before Saber could get hurt (after seeing her breakdown after Lancelot, he...isn't exactly thinking). Saber then wakes, finds Shirou gone and pursues. She catches him, and they have a...talk. Eventually, they agree that if they aren't going to sleep they might as well patrol. Shirou's route 'accidentally' leads by the school, so they stop and try and do something about the Bloodfort. Rin, doing the same thing by coincidence (didn't turn up to school thanks to Archer's worse injuries, and possibility of 2 hostile Masters), runs into the two just as Shirou admits to not knowing Personal Reinforcement.

Last chapter, Shirou and Rin make a deal to ally until the Master threatening the school is defeated. Spend the rest of that night wiping out Bloodfort seals (much faster, due to Shirou's memoryhax allowing him to 'sense' where the sigils are really fast and really accurately. RA+SS part, and SS returns home. The next day, Shirou and Saber are practicing swordfighting and Shirou, thanks to memoryhax again, manages to kinda-sorta use a 'fake opening'. Saber's worried, as if Shirou realises the potential (stupidly dangerous, but allows a weakling to fight a Servant) he'll off and do something stupidly dangerous. Oh, and Shirou invited Sakura to stay over at his house after Shinji tried to hit her in front of the school (neither Rin nor Shirou there to stop him), but honestly that'll NEVER be important.

ON TO:

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><p><strong>Fate ReNight Chapter 8: Unexpected Developments**

Though cutting it close, Shirou and Sakura managed to prepare just enough food to sate the morning appetites of Saber and Taiga at the expense of the last of Shirou's supplies.

_'Well it lasted long enough, I guess. I can buy some more today. I doubt Saber will really object to me getting more food. And I can take this opportunity to do some of my own thinking on the identities of the Servants. No sense in hoping everything is going to work out without me doing anything.'_

Sure enough, Saber was happy to let Shirou out during the day to purchase food, assuming that no Master would be insane enough to attack the center of the city in broad daylight. Shirou decided against cycling to the store: with what he had planned, the bus would be better as he'd be able to reach the city more easily.

Taking more money than he felt strictly necessary, he departed.

—

As it turned out, Shirou had underestimated just how much he was going to spend on this expedition. Burdened with the mass of raw food he bought and a few small unessentials like proper tea bags and thankful he had decided to leave his bicycle, Shirou staggered onto the return bus. It was only when he got on that he realise that by purchasing food now, he was going to miss Ilya's escapade the following day.

_'Hopefully she won't hold it against me... But I guess after Berserker is dealt with I can apologize. I wonder what she's going to do now, though. With any luck I'll be able to give her a tour after after this is over.'_

—

When he arrived home and packed away the food he found Saber sitting in the dojo, only without the swords that he had expected. After the last bout of combat training, it seemed Saber felt she needed to reevaluate her 'training program', so instead of the sword practice he had been anticipating, it turned out Saber was, after last night's discussion, going to focus on Reinforcement and personal enhancement.

Surprising Shirou, Saber turned out to know a great deal of magical theory. While she couldn't show Shirou how to perform it, she described it in a way that let him know what he had to do. Lacking Rin's innate brilliance for magic, Saber used basic terms that even a beginner magus would understand, and so Shirou made surprising progress in what could have been a dangerous field. Of course, after a single day's practice he couldn't actually use personal Reinforcement on the fly, at least without the risk of overreinforcing and causing something important to break, but with enough preparation he could at least begin to enhance himself.

In the late afternoon, Sakura arrived and their training was cut short. As some who apparently was an invalid, sword training would have been difficult to explain, and continued magic training would be too risky. Saber called the lesson to a close, and returned to her room to 'conserve mana'. Shirou, forced to play the invalid in bed, took the opportunity to practice his magecraft. A few hours later, Sakura opened his door to 'wake' him for the 'start' of dinner preparations (of course, she had already almost finished, not wanting let Shirou exert himself. He felt he should have seen that coming).

Unfortunately, this calm day proved to preclude a considerably more stressful night.

—

Surprisingly, the sigils of the Bloodfort had only been partially recreated, and the night's job of destabilizing the dangerous field was unexpectedly easy. Shirou wondered if Shinji had somehow failed to notice the crumbling fort, or if his nerve had simply broken and, after noticing at the scale of destruction he and Rin were wreaking on the seals, had decided to call off Rider.

It turned out, neither of those was the answer.

Shirou suspected something might be wrong when, as he walked back with Saber, he noticed a dark figure in the shadow of a tree near where the road branched into his street and the route to the Matou residence. A figure who was holding a dark, rectangular object under one arm.

"Hiya, Emiya."

"Shinji."

Shinji raised his hand that wasn't carrying his book, but didn't move forwards. Seeing Shinji wasn't moving, Shirou took a step towards Shinji. There was a soft rustle in the tree above him.

Then things got...complicated.

A metal spike on a chain was hurled at Shirou's head.

Shirou twisted, pulling himself low under the half-anticipated attack.

Saber armoured herself and leapt in front of her uninjured Master, invisible sword parrying the nail up into the air.

Shinji took three steps back and raised his book towards Shirou.

There was a pause, as both sides took stock of what had happened.

"Rider, you missed."

A dark shape dropped down in front of Shinji.

"My apologies, Master."

She raised her two nails, pointing them at Shirou and Saber.

"It will not happen again."

And just like that, as if Rider's words had unpaused a video, everyone sprang into motion.

Saber launched herself at Shinji's Servant, who leapt high and launched a nail at each of her targets. Saber batted the weapon away contemptuously while Shirou desperately threw himself out of the way, scooping up a branch Rider had dislodged in her opening attack and reinforcing it with as much mana as he dared. Shinji had retreated further and was chanting, book in hand. A clear voice barked out an order.

"Shirou, engage the Master closely!"

Saber's very tone forced Shirou into action before he realized the reason behind the order. At close range, not only would he have a massive advantage over the Grimoire-wielding opponent, but in addition Rider wouldn't be able to launch ranged attacks, in fear if hitting her Master. And with Saber already in combat with her, Rider both was unable gain the second she would require to launch a precise attack, nor could she move closer to the Masters for fear of turning her back on Saber.

Rider grimaced at Saber's plan, and pushed herself into the air again, this time hurling both her weapons at Shirou in an attempt to stop him. One missed, while the other skimmed off the shoulder of Shirou's just-reinforced jacket. Saber felt a burst of pride when she saw Shirou had both understood her, and taken the initiative to armor and arm himself as best he could. Rider's weapons were a split-second late in returning, and Saber took the opportunity to launch a series of blinding slashes at her opponent's body. While Rider managed to dodge or deflect most of the blows with her chains, her slight mistiming cost her, and she emerged from the clash sporting a deep wound to her right leg. Saber did not follow up, moving instead to step between Rider and the two Masters. In doing this, she prevented either Servant from aiding their Masters.

A second after Shirou felt something, probably a nail from Rider, scrape across the left shoulder of his jacket, Shinji finished chanting and familiar black shadows pulled themselves up before Shinji and flew at Shirou. To Shirou, who had managed to withstand Shinji's magic long before staring down Berserker, Ea and being hit by The Grail Curse three times in quick succession, this was a hardly an impressive attack. He didn't even pause, and within moments had broken through Shinji's spell, branch extended, catching Shinji in the stomach as the other wavered in stunned disbelief. Shirou followed the lunge up with a upwards flick, jarring Shinji's book-arm and sending the tome flying into the air. Shinji made a dive for the book but Shirou got there first, kicking it off into the deeper shadows and leveled his reinforced branch at Shinji. Part of him recoiled at the cold violence he had just unleashed, but he knew from experience that Shinji was quite willing to kill several hundreds of humans just to win the Grail. This way, he stopped Shinji's self-destructive behavior and saved potentially hundreds of people.

_'If I can just force him to stop...'_

A thin voice broke into his thoughts.

"Who are you? You aren't Emiya. No way! This can't be happening!"

Shinji's voice rose to a screech.

"Rider, what are you doing? You useless bitch, help me!"

Shirou bent and grabbed Shinji's collar, pulling him close. With that, the noise behind him fell silent. Rider was frozen, her Master in peril while Saber remained alert, positioned between Shirou and Rider. All that could be heard was the faint rustling of leaves, and Shinii's panicked breathing.

"Shinji. You have ten seconds to order your Servant to take down the field at the school."

The threat if he failed to comply was obvious.

"Wh,what are you blabbering about, Shirou? It has to be your field. Or if it isn't yours then it has to be that bitch Tohsaka's! She must have tricked us both int-ARGH"

Shirou interrupted Shinji's desperate rant by tightening his hold.

"Ten..."

"Shirou, listen to m-ARGH!"

Something was wrong. Wrongwrongwrongwrong. Saber's senses screamed that something utterly unnatural was nearby.

"Nine. Eight..."

Her eyes left Rider, darting around trying to find just where the feeling was coming from. In the background, her Master kept counting, ignoring Shinji's cries.

"Five. Four..."

Saber tightened her grip. Rider was sure to make a move soon, and she'd need to be ready to interc-

And then, in the darkness where Shirou had kicked Shinji's spellbook, there as a flash as the book suddenly burst into flames.

The sudden, unexpected incineration pulled Saber's already-distracted attention away from Rider for a split second. No time for a human to react, but...

The black-clothed Servant, despite her wounds, twisted like a snake and dodged past Saber in a single, flowing motion. Saber turned, shouting out a warning.

"Master!"

It was to his credit that Shirou reacted in time. Dropping Shinji, he managed to guard himself with his weapon. Rider's kick impacted on the branch, breaking through in a shower of blood and splinters and crashing into him a few centimeters under his ribs. Luckily, his jacket caught most of the impact, spreading the force out and preventing a mortal wound. Of course, the kick still lifted him off his feet and knocked him away from where he had been standing. Saber herself started moving as soon as she had turned, positioning herself between her Master and their foes.

None of this took more than a few seconds.

"Boy. You are a disgrace to the name Matou."

The voice of an old man cuts through the air like a whip. Shinji seems to cringe back from it in fear.

A figure emerges from the darkness of the night. A wizened, old man, clutching a cane in his right hand.

"Leave here. You are no longer in any position to fight. Your power has been disrupted and your Servant wounded. If you continue to be this useless, you should be prepared to live out the rest of your life as meaninglessly as your father did. If you insist on continuing down this path, at least make better use of the gifts I have given you, rather than wasting them."

While talking, the hunched figure slowly moved between Shirou and Shinji, before resting both hands on his cane. With his back turned on Shinji, it was obvious that he was now addressing Shirou and his Servant.

"It seems my life will end here. No matter how pathetic he may be, Shinji is still my grandson. I have to save him, even if it does mean my own demise."

While is words sounded noble, Saber's, and even Shirou's instincts were blazing that this old man was dangerous. While the two stared at newcomer, Rider faded out of existence, leaving only a small pool of blood where she had been standing. Pulling himself up, Shinji seemed unsure of whether to glare hatefully at Shirou or fearfully at his apparent grandfather. Eventually, he retreated, and Zouken bent his head towards the remaining pair.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zouken, of the Matou Magi family. And I do believe you are Shirou Emiya. My granddaughter has mentioned you before, though I cannot remember exactly in what context. And you must be Saber."

Barely paying attention to what was being said, Shirou's mind was reeling from the developments. Who was this man? Why hadn't he appeared last War? Rider was still Shinji's Servant despite the book being destroyed. Had he been wrong in his assumptions?

Shirou moved to question Zouken, but Saber blocked him with a plate gauntlet, and pointed her invisible sword at the old magi with her other hand. Her instincts were blazing that this…magus was the source of the unnatural web that had come down around the area, and she wasn't about to let her Master put himself anywhere near the line of fire. As Saber had half-expected, Zouken showed no signs of fear of her blade, and merely chuckled. She hoped it was mere overconfidence, but with her Master so close by...

"Now that my imbecile of a grandson is safe, I suppose there is no need for us to talk further. Goodbye, successor of Emiya."

Saber tensed at the obvious threat, preparing to shield her Master directly from whatever Zouken had planned. Zouken lifted his cane of the ground and...

Without warning, his form collapsed, melting into the shadows behind him.

Saber turned to Shirou, asking silently if she should pursue. He shook his head, tiredly.

"No. No, we shouldn't go all out yet. When we do go after Rider and Shinji we should alert Rin and Archer. After all, that is what we promised to do last night."

Suddenly Shirou felt like laughing. Had it really only been last night he had formed an alliance with Rin? And now, with a plan to defeat Shinji already forming it seemed that the alliance would soon be breaking apart.

'_I wonder if the War was this complicated to begin with, and somehow I managed to muddle through purely with luck.'_

—

The two combatants, tired and (in Shirou's case) bruised from their late-night excursion, decided that any true planning could wait until they could confer with Rin and Archer. They both hoped that in the morning they would be less tired, and be able to think more clearly due to a calm night's rest.

Unfortunately, the rest in the Emiya household was not calm.

—

-It's a landscape Shirou has never seen before. Not in his past, or even in his dreams of Saber's past. It reminds him most of this hill of Camlann, where Saber's kingdom had come down in blazing ruins. But instead of the blood-soaked hill, the land he sees is parched. Absolutely barren. The sky overhead is not the overcast grey of Britain, but is instead a fiery, blood red. Of course, this is not the main difference.

Instead of the bodies of Arturia's hill, there are instead thousands-no countless- swords.

Is this the grand aftermath of a battle? Some epic monument to the fallen? Shirou 'turns' his dream-self around. No. There is no-one else here but him. Not a single trace of life can been seen. Saber, who had always been the omnipresent figure of Shirou's dreams, is nowhere to be found. This is a creation of his own mind, then.

An ashen wind blow through the swords embedded in the ground, causing the red dust to stir, and breaking the deafening silence that had everywhere. At least the wind is familiar to Shirou. And yet eventually the wind stops, and Shirou is once again struck by how utterly alien the landscape around him is. Time has lost all meaning in this dream.

A ruin of infinite swords, rusting without wielders. Thousands upon thousands of blades, and yet without a single human they are useless. Dead.

What Shirou sees is a graveyard. A graveyard of countless blades.

And he wakes from his dream.

—

Entering the church, Tohsaka calls out "Kirei! I know your here."

...Kirei?

Saber wonders if she misheard the other Master. Or if she hadn't, surely it was simply an unlikely coincidence. However, when the tall man emerged from the shadows, she instinctively falls back, trying to grasp a sword that isn't there.

"Lost already Rin? I'm disappointed in you." The priest speaks. Anyone else would have said that as a joke or a reprimand. This priest talked like he was discussing the weather. Saber knows him. The man who had been the final Master of the last Grail War stood before her, large as life. The only thing that seemed dead about him was his eyes; hollow, black pits of nothingness. Behind her Tohsaka spoke, though Saber barely noticed, to busy trying to work out how the scene before her was possible.

"Knock it off Kirei, I've brought the seventh master here for confirmation."

"Ah, I see" he responds. Again, his voice is neutral, like it doesn't matter. "I welcome you boy. I am Kotomine Kirei."

"You are the supervisor for this war?" This from her Master, unaware of what a dangerous person he as standing in front of.

"I am. What is your name boy?"

"Emiya Shirou"

Kotomine pauses at this, looking at and analyzing Shirou. Saber realizes why, even if her Master does not. "I see...well then, you are the last Master then."

"Wait" Her Master says, raising his hand "I'll tell you right now, I have no intention of becoming a master."

What.

"Oh?" Kotomine says, with an echo of shock or suspicion in his voice. His eyes narrow, turning he calls out "Rin, explain." Rin sighs, obviously having expected this.

"As you can see, he doesn't understand what's going on. I knew it would be dangerous, so I brought him here."

Kotomine turns back to her Master "In that case, I will ask you Emiya Shirou, no matter that you were chosen by some mistake, you were chosen to be a Master by the Holy Grail. If you obtain it, then all your wishes will come true. Knowing that, are you still going to refuse?"

"No matter how powerful an object it is, it's not worth killing over." Shirou answers. 'Behind' him, Saber looks on, trying to piece everything she knew together. He said this, and yet this night, he had seemed willing to attack someone who seemed to have been his friend. This wasn't making _sense!_

"Are you afraid of killing?" Kirei asks contemptuously. "That doesn't sound like the words of a magus. A magus must be prepared to put his life in danger, but it sounds like you are a coward."

"NO!" Shirou yells "It's not that I'm afraid, is imply have no reason to fight. I have no wishes to be granted."

"Really? The holy grail grants any wish a magus desires. What will happen if a selfish magus obtains the Grail? You've seen the news about all the accidents around town. Those were no accidents boy. Those were the actions of selfish magi. They make their Servants feed on the souls of their victims"

"You're saying that innocent people are being endangered under my nose?"

Like the scenario with his classmates and Rider's field. Saber feels she understands why her Master acted so coldly towards the other Master. The needs of the many…

"Let me tell you one more thing," Kirei says "This is the fifth Holy grail war. The last war happened about ten years ago. A foolish magus caused a disaster to occur and a large number of innocent people died."

Saber then notices Shirou's blank eyes, the sweat on his forehead, his trembling hands. Had he been caught up in the events at the end of the last War? That would be darkly ironic. This…would need some thought.

"So? What will you do? Of course, if you choose to refuse after hearing about that, I have no problems with that." His voice, it's like a bucket of ice on Saber. "Everyone values their own life more than their own."

Shirou is clenching his teeth so hard that Saber can hear it. "D-don't screw with me" he growls "I decided to walk the path of my father and become a hero of justice. I won't let anyone else become involved in this nonsensical war"

Rising in anger he yelled, "I WON"T LET THE TRAGEDY OF TEN YEARS AGO REPEAT ITSELF"

Rin falls back from the power of his voice. Shirou did not seem one to yell, but at that moment his voice is shockingly filled with emotions, more than either Rin, or the invisible Saber had heard. "I'll become a Master or whatever it takes to prevent it from happening."

Kirei claps his hands like this was a high-quality performance. "Very well, then I hereby declare the beginning of the fifth Holy Grail War. Abide by your beliefs. Battle to your heart's content."

The ex-Master stretches his arms out as he continues "Rejoice boy, for your wish shall finally be granted"

Shirou walks out of the church, pale and trembling.

"Master" Saber calls out "What's wrong? You're so pale."

And she wakes from her dream.

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><p>AND CUT<p>

Not really happy with this either, but happier now that it's out rather than burning a hole in my computer. Also, yes I know the tenses were all messed up towards the end. I was trying to make the dream stand out as different to 'reality', but not sure if the effect was obvious, or it just seemed like I was making a stupid, careless mistake. If needs be I can change it, I guess...

Also as part of my apology, here's an excerpt from next chapter: **Chapter 9: Ambushing Ambushers.**

"I will kill you if is the only way to prevent people from dying. If saving everyone in this school is only possible by killing the one that is trying to murder them… I'd do it. For their sake I'll be the killer instead today."

Anyways, if you aren't too annoyed at me, please review. And remember that if you want to ask questions I'll be happy to answer them.

HR


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